


War of Roses

by The_Fanfic_Mormon



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Angst?, Battle, Chapter length will vary wildly, Character Death, Colonization, Diamonds act like a mom towards Pink, Discovering the truth, Emotions, Empire-building, Foreshadowing, Gems don't care about organics, Gen, Homeworld Hierarchy (Steven Universe), I'll try to be as close to canon as possible, I'm sad I killed a snake in this one because I really love snakes a lot, Insanity, Intense, It's probably going to get dark soonish, Mentions of Suicide, Minor foreshadowing, My First Fanfic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Padparadschas can useful, Pre-Gem War, Rose isn't as good as everyone thinks, Sadism, Secrets, Tags Are Hard, Torture, Violence, War, discovery of Earth, war causes terrible things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2019-06-27 21:58:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15694161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Fanfic_Mormon/pseuds/The_Fanfic_Mormon
Summary: A series of stories adding a little more detail to the Gem Rebellion from multiple perspectives, as well as the events immediately preceding and following it. This isn't going to have any ships in it, sorry. I want to explore perspectives that the show really hasn't. I promise you, as you read my writing does get better.Posting may be infrequent, and I'll apologize ahead of time for their length. I like to get to the point. Sorry if shorter stories put you off.





	1. Beneath Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've wanted to do something like this for a while, as I've been unable to find many good stories on Gem warfare and the details of the rebellion itself. My writing's shit, so we'll see. Feel free to disparage in the comments. Comments and kudos are appreciated.

If there was sound in the void, any keen listener would’ve been able to hear a slightly melodramatic, accented sigh followed by a continuous stream of mumbled complaints. Had they inquired any further, they’d meet a barrage of small gloved fists, and the very annoyed gem who they belonged to. 

Aquamarine had been traveling for several lightyears with anxiety-riddled thoughts. She was a professional! Her reputation was well known. For centuries, Quartz soldiers had whispered rumors of her skill in scouting out enemy camps. She had a well-established reputation, cemented by the two dozen or so planets she helped clear. So when her magnificent, luminous, resplendent Diamond notified her of a crucial task that needed completion, Aquamarine hadn’t thought twice of it. After all, why would you not come to the best when you actually needed something done? Then she had learned what this special assignment was. She’d expected an Andesine or a Hessonite or even a Jasper to summon her, but when an invitation came, she had found herself gem-to-gem with a Pearl. A Pearl of all things! 

She had suspected some incompetent gem was guilty of a miscommunication until a large figure strode into the room. Aquamarine immediately snapped to attention, crisscrossing her arms in a salute as Pink Diamond herself stared down at her. “Yellow has assigned you to myself, no?” the regal gem asked. “Y-yes, my Diamond! Aquamarine Facet 3 Cut 13TK at your command!” she had stuttered back in reply. Internally she had winced. Pink Diamond was known for her…ridiculous ideas and often futile pursuits across the Gempire, and Aquamarine knew that this was either a truly important task, or one to keep her occupied in a forced fall from grace. Her uncomfortableness increased twofold when Pink Diamond had told her she was to do a preliminary expedition to a planetary system chosen for colonization. This was beneath her, completely and totally. She had been in conflict for a significant portion of her existence, and to suddenly have been assigned to some explorer’s post? Absurd! 

There was no resistance to the Diamonds, however, and so Aquamarine had spread her wings and shot off across space. She had systematically gone through the outer five planets. The first four she had come across were gas giants, possibly to be used for resource-harvesting and nothing more. The small red planet, fourth from its star, had potential, but its constant dust storms would make initial establishments difficult to construct. The third planet had required further investigation. 

After zipping over to check the two closest to the star (one had too much iron, the other had simply ridiculous phenomena that would cause numerous complications, such as acid falling from the atmosphere), she dipped into the skies of what had previously seemed like an insignificant blue speck. As soon as she broke through the cloud cover, she stopped short with surprise. 

A…thing of some sort, was staring at her from the ground. This organic had a brown shaggy covering, large sharp protrusions from the end of its arms, and stood nearly the height of a 5-Ruby fusion. It gazed at her for a few seconds longer, then resumed whatever it was doing with what Aquamarine had to assume was… vegetation of some sort? She couldn’t be sure, as she’d never seen non-sentient organisms this prolific, if that’s what they were. Shaking off the surprise, she put some distance between herself and the behemoth before setting herself down in a spot several thousand units from where the large body of water that encompassed most of this planet met the edge of the landmass. It was a clear patch, with substantial pockets of vegetation and water surrounding it. But it was clear nonetheless. After brushing some dirt off of her appearance modifiers, she began to scan her surroundings with her gem. She felt some relief stir within her as she received the results. 

This planet, while unfortunately covered in organics, contained a wonderful amount of minerals and resources to establish a colony! She sighed again, but this time with a touch of reassurance in it. She’d found an excellent location, and Pink Diamond would hopefully not require her services after she relayed the findings back to her. She began to transmit information, knowing the Diamond would automatically receive it. 

She began to rub her gem in relief. Suddenly she heard the crack of something breaking behind her, but before she could turn around she felt a large mouth slam down on her. A third sigh managed to escape her lips before her form dissipated, and her gem fell into the dank interior of a mysterious organic. 

* * *

The boa constrictor was a little confused. He had been lurking on a branch when he had saw a massive spot of heat, more than he had ever seen in his life. He had slowly slithered up behind it, and although it was small and seemed to be floating, it was a morsel nonetheless. He had gotten close, and just as he’d gone over a stick, he had lunged forward, snapping his jaws over his tiny target. All of a sudden, his meal had disappeared from his mouth, and he could feel a small object hit the bottom of his esophagus. He wasn’t sure what had just happened, but he didn’t think anything of it until several hours later. 

He was basking in the setting sun when he felt a mass appear in his throat. The reptile barely had time to perceive this change when his head suddenly burst off his body, blood and flesh splattering everywhere in a gruesome rain. A small, disheveled figure emerged from the decapitated corpse, anger permeating off of her in waves. “I swear, in the name of the Diamonds, this better be the last of this gemforsaken planet I ever see!” she screamed as she slammed her fist down on the recently removed head, making it explode violently. She picked up the corpse and threw it as hard as she could into the distance. She may have only been on this world for a day, but she somehow could tell that it was going to be an annoying one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All word choices took into account the fact that this Aquamarine had helped clear several planets, so she would have an idea of what things like weather or vegetation were. The big organic was a megatherium. Comment if you have any questions or critiques.  
> Edit: Changed Titanoboa to boa constrictor. Thanks to geronimon for correcting me, I just like big snakes.


	2. A Small Mercy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter. This is a fluke, admittedly, as when classes start I won't be so consistent. But these next few weeks should have fairly regular uploads (just not every day like this one). Comments and kudos are appreciated.

Nephrite absentmindedly drummed her touch stumps on her captain’s chair. She let her thoughts drift as stars streaked by the viewport of the ship. She knew she was supposed to be excited, as all gems were supposed to be for fulfilling their role in the great hierarchy. But she couldn’t help herself. Of course, there was an air of importance to this particular trip. 

A Diamond’s first colony was nothing short of a wondrous occurrence. The young matriarch, it was deemed by the rest of the Diamond Authority, was finally ready to take on her full responsibilities. There was suddenly a bit of excitement within the Gempire, one not seen since the creation of Pink herself. Both Yellow and Blue Diamond had given her the best of their courts and troops, and there were rumors that Yellow even set up a kindergarten to specially turn out high-quality gems just for her. The increase in parades on Homeworld in the past few centuries, both celebratory and military, certainly indicated the significance of this event. 

However, Nephrite just couldn’t muster up the expected excitement. She had been reassigned from Blue’s command to Pink’s, along with her whole crew. She was happy for her new Diamond, but just the act of landing was never one that elated the cyclopean captain. What would really be different about this “Earth” anyway? She chuckled softly at that thought. The name itself was fairly unorthodox. Apparently the Aquamarine who surveyed the planet had picked up the name from the native sentient lifeforms. Pink had adopted it immediately, remarking that if the world already had a name, why not use it? The answer, simply put, was that the disgusting organics had named it so. But woe to any gem that contradicted the will of a Diamond, so “Earth” it was. Its title aside, Nephrite failed to see what would be all that different about this one. Her younger crew members, most of them Nephrites as well, were a little more enlivened by it, though she wasn’t sure why. 

She glanced at the Jade who had been assigned to this mission. The gem had stood stoic and still for the entire trip, in such a manner that one could be forgiven for thinking she was a statue. Her eye traveled up the elaborate cloak that covered the pale green gem, all the way to the long, wavy hair that adorned her head. Nephrite had looked into another Jade’s eyes once before, and all six of them had a profound sense of misery. Jades were libraries given form, sent to gather every scrap of data possible about each planet selected for colonization. Some of them were old enough to have been veterans of the Great War, tens of millions of cycles in the distant past. She could only wonder about how knowing and experiencing that much could weigh upon ones shoulders. 

She was startled out of her musings when the ship jolted to a stop suddenly. The pilot turned around, announcing with an undercurrent of anticipation in her voice that they had arrived on Earth. The Jade’s eyes opened suddenly and she elegantly strode towards the hatch as it began to open. Bright light streamed through the doors as a rush of air blew through the entrance. Almost immediately, the Jade shot upwards, flying until she could no longer be seen. Nephrite and her crew slowly crept out of the ship, their eyes darting around in wonder at the completely alien environment. She paused at the edge of the exit ramp, hands at her hips, and before she could take another step something obscured her view. 

She quickly plucked whatever it was off of her eye, then glanced down at it. It was an organic, with an oblong body and black wings splotched with blobs of brilliant blue. Nephrite stared at the organism, taking in its delicate structure and colorful splendor. She opened her palm a little, and it stood up, fluttering its wings while it regained its senses. Something small sparked within her, a whispering voice that asked her how bad it would be to begin to appreciate this lifeform, the minuscule beauty of it. 

The organic took a few tentative steps forward before Nephrite’s fist tightly closed around it, crushing the organic quickly and terminating its life. The voice went silent. She brushed the remains off of her hand and stepped onto the planet for the first time. It was a mercy, really, seeing as what would happen to the organic life when terraforming began would be much worse. She glanced to her left and saw the Peridot they had traveled with reform, then begin to set up a warp pad. It was just easier sometimes to keep their gems in stasis for long trips. Behind the Peridot, her crew was already setting up a communication relay station. 

She began to hum an old marching song as she walked towards the other gems. Just another planet to colonize, she thought to herself. Not that different at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't have any sympathy for organic life, can you? The butterfly is a real species native to the area (Northern South America). I promise that all of these installments won't just be gems coming to Earth and killing a thing. Just bear with me. Also, I'm sorry but I just couldn't use "vision spheres" instead of "eyes." It made the story awkward. Comment if you have questions or critiques.


	3. Mistakes Can Be Useful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took a different path with this one. The ending ties in to the Rebellion, but this is mostly just a creative exercise in some world-building. I think it's interesting (also I love Yellow Diamond and the idea of her simultaneously as a master strategist and leader, and also as an exasperated mom for Pink). Comments and kudos are appreciated.

If there was any sort of question that every gem had asked themselves at some point in their existence, it would relate to White Diamond. Why did she hole herself up in her ship? What happened to her Pearl? How old was she actually? The latter question is actually remarkable, seeing as it was one that even the other members of the Diamond Authority had hypothesized about. 

Yellow Diamond, although never giving anything away, had directed a small faction in her court do research discreetly into White’s origin. Blue had only ever asked with mirth or sarcasm, never really interested. But Yellow knew better than to wallow in ignorance. Knowledge gives one strength, and knowledge about most powerful gem in the universe was especially helpful. She knew that just because White had decided to bring her and Blue into existence didn’t necessarily mean that she was looking out or caring for them. 

White had a… temper, a rage that made even Yellow cautious. It was well-known, at least among the courts of the Diamonds, what she had done to her Pearl all those millennia ago, and Yellow couldn’t be confident that she wouldn’t do it to her. Some leverage needed to be gained. These thoughts all flew through her head as she warped into a highly confidential location. It was located in the kindergarten of a dead colony, a world cracked and broken by centuries upon centuries of churning out gems. She stepped off the hidden warp pad, and briskly walked towards a wall that seemed no different from any other. She placed her hand on the only bare section of rock, and after a few seconds, the wall slowly bisected to reveal her secret laboratory. 

As soon as she stepped in, every gem immediately stopped what they were doing and saluted her, many of them very nervous. They all knew what they were doing was highly subversive, and many assumed the worst every time that door opened. Yellow put them at ease, then walked down the corridor to meet with her head scientists. As she entered the room, the gems there again snapped to salute, except for an orange gem who seemed to wait for a few seconds before doing so. Yellow sat down in her massive chair, crossing her legs in impatience. “Well?” she remarked, a slight note of irritation in her voice.

The other gems got the message and slowly let down their arms. The Coral who ran the facility stepped forward as Yellow glared down at her. “We have made a breakthrough, my Diamond. May I present Padparadscha Facet 18 Cut LD4.” Yellow’s expression soured. “Facet 18, you say? The same site where the Sapphire debacle happened twenty-five million years ago?!?” she said, voice growing a hard edge. 

She remembered that particular incident well. A Peridot had added much more chromium and magnesium than needed, resulting in an entire batch of Padparadscha Sapphires. When tested, it was found that they could only “predict” events that had just occurred. Most were shattered immediately. Some commanders had used them in the Great War, but by the time the conflict ended, nearly all were broken. A few had gone missing, either in hiding or abandoned on planets after their leaders grew frustrated with them. Yellow had been furious, ordering almost everyone involved with the mishap to the harvesters. She had, however, snatched up a few specimens out of pure curiosity. 

Recalling all of this, her voice rose. “What are you doing with a defective?!?” she yelled. The Coral winced, then quickly stepped back as Yellow’s aura began to crackle. She anxiously continued. “W-we had a-an idea to use the, uh, t-the defective f-f-for information, my Diamond!” Yellow’s rage receded a bit. Now more interested then angry, her aura died down and she motioned for her to continue. “Since Padparadschas can only see into the past, we had an idea to enhance their abilities,” the Coral continued, a little more confident. “By dousing their gems in energy beams containing the signatures of those additional elements, we have been able to get the specimens to see further and further into the past.” 

Yellow’s eyes lit up as the scientist talked. Why, this was brilliant! Who could’ve known that an off-color might be the one to decode the mysteries of the oldest gem in existence? “How far back can she see?” the Diamond inquired, plucking up the small gem and placing it in her palm. “This specimen can see the furthest into the past, about one billion, two hundred and fifty million years,” the scientist replied. Yellow brought her hand up so she could look head-on at the gem. 

“Padparadscha LD4,” she said, authority clinging to every word, “Tell me what I was doing seven hundred million years ago.” The gem assumed a puzzled look, and remained that way for a few minutes. Suddenly she clutched her hands together, looked up at her Diamond, and spoke. 

“I’m having a most wonderful vision!" the seer said with excitement. "You are talking to a group of Verdelites. You are…instructing them to commence a propaganda campaign regarding the extermination of organics. Too many gems have expressed dissatisfaction with this happening, and it will hinder the expansion of the Gempire unless action is taken.” 

Yellow paused for a moment, mulling over the accuracy of the statement. Of course, it was perfectly precise. The denizens of Homeworld had grown soft, too sympathetic for an inferior form of life. She had commanded the Verdelites in the propaganda department to force a change in opinions. After all, an empire functions smoothest when its subjects are compliant. 

She turned her head towards lead scientist. “Excellent. Continue with your work. You have your directives.” She uncrossed her legs, about to get up when her communicator buzzed. The room went silent as the device activated and a yellow shape hovered in the air. Suddenly, Yellow’s Pearl appeared on-screen. “My Diamond,” the servant gem said meekly as she saluted and bowed, “Pink Diamond has requested your presence. An incident has occurred on her colony.” Yellow let loose out a loud sigh, returning the Padparadscha to the ground and momentarily placing her forehead in her palm. “Tell her I’ll be there as soon as I can,” the matriarch replied, standing up with a frown on her lips. 

She walked back to the door, taking the time to glare at any gem who crossed her path. She stepped outside, and as the door closed behind her, she massaged her temples for a few seconds. She moved on to the warp pad, and as the translucent blue streaks rose around her, she readied herself for another session of dealing with Pink. A productive day had begun to turn into an irritating one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The incident mentioned at the end was the attack on the sky arena. So yeah, things are picking up. I'm spoiling you folks with these frequent uploads, but don't get used to it. Comment below with any questions or criticism.


	4. Not Personal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fourth chapter! Took a little longer, but here you go folks! This chapter is dedicated to rakat15, Blue_Pearl, sonic, geronimon, absolutemagnitude, saraphynx, and Oreina for their bookmark, comments, and kudos, respectively. That's a lot of dedications, but I just wanted to say thank you all so much! It was you guys who, through direct and indirect support, made me want to finish this chapter and continue this story! And thank you to everyone else who's read and left kudos, I feel so grateful! Comments and kudos, as demonstrated by what I've just said, are greatly appreciated.

There once was war. A Great War, thirty million years ago, that itself lasted for fifty thousand more. Why it was fought is a question whose answer was lost to the seas of time. Only the Diamonds knew, and they weren’t revealing anything. The casualties had been enormous, with so much damage stretched over so many planets that White Diamond herself had to step in to stop the war, ceasing all conflict with a single demonstration of her eternal power. The tetrarchy had since been at peace with itself, the only wars being those to secure planets from their native inhabitants. Many had often stated that peace among Gems was the best anyone could hope for. 

Now, as Larimar YV7 reflected, everyone seemed ready to discard their previous opinions in a hypocritical excitement. Many Emeralds had begun polishing off their medals, bragging about what they’d do for a chance to crush the traitorous clods. Spinels had gone into a designer furor, churning out new ideas for gems quicker than the Diamonds could approve them. The Morganite bureaucracy had been thrown into a frenzy, filing every order in triplicate and generally micromanaging everything they could. 

The entire Gempire was suddenly animated, eager to leap head-first into battle. Regardless of the fact that only Pink Diamond’s Gems would fight, everyone acted like they’d be the Gem to shatter the defectors themselves. Larimar had only heard rumors of what they’d be up against. Rose Quartz, a new Gem type, who wielded a sword and fought for the repulsive organics of Earth. A renegade Pearl, who showed no hesitation, who took no quarter when fighting. A fusion between a Ruby and a Sapphire, as disgusting as that sounded. A Bismuth who forged weapons, a smattering of fusions, and the list went on. She had nearly fallen over with surprise when the Hessonite in charge of her artillery unit told her she’d be fighting not organic lifeforms, but other Gems! It was unheard of in this modern day and age! 

On the trip to Earth, no one had said a word. The Homeworld upper-crusts could go on about glory and valor in battle, but they were the Gems sent in to do the fighting. And she knew from experience that not everyone was anticipating war. The uneasy tones that many soldiers had adopted proved otherwise. 

Upon landing, she had marched out along with the rest of the her unit to find a whole battalion of soldiers ready to fight. There was a massive crowd of Amethysts and Jaspers, boasting loudly to each other, yet obviously masking a nervousness that crept into their voices when they weren’t careful. She could see a group of Pyrites, and maybe even a Topaz, but she doubted a seige unit would be needed here. She noticed that there weren't any aerial support vehicles or bombers, nor where there any specialized troops. Homeworld, apparently, expected a decisive trouncing. After several threats from the Iolite corporal, the troops quieted down and assembled into a standard formation, staring ahead at a pink palanquin. After several minutes of silence, a large blue rectangle slowly materialized in front of them, fuzzy for a moment, then snapping into focus to reveal the azure face of Blue Diamond glaring down at them. Withering under her gaze, Larimar and the rest of the soldiers quickly snapped into a salute. 

“Loyalty,” she began, “is something expected of all Gems. You are gifted with a place in the great Hierarchy, given a chance to serve the Diamonds.” She tilted her head to the side, throwing a mass of white hair over her shoulder. “This revolting rebellion, full of objectionable specimens…” The matriarch paused, her eyes adopting a glare that could crack open a planet. “These specimens represent a perversion of a natural order! Fighting for an inferior race, valuing these pathetic creatures over their fellow Gems, refusing the authority of their natural superiors!” 

Her voice had risen to a shout, spittle flying furiously from her mouth in rage. “You will march into battle, shatter them all, for the glory of Pink Diamond, for the glory of Homeworld itself!” From beyond the curtains, Pink Diamond and her Pearl stepped out of her palanquin. At the sight of the young ruler, the soldiers started cheering furiously, pumping their fists in the air. Larimar felt the energy of the crowd, pulling a three-bladed claw out of her gem and roaring in excitement. By the time they’d calmed down and begun to march, no one had noticed the young ruler and her servant had slipped away. 

* * *

Larimar sat quietly, gripping the control panel on her artillery piece. It had been hours since they’d set up, expertly calculating angles, accounting for wind speed and planet curvature, refining their aim to the smallest margin of error achievable. Now they waited in tense silence for the order to fire. 

The Amethysts and Jaspers had been split into two battalions, to march head on into battle and hold the lines. The artillery would box the traitors in while inflicting casualties. Then the Pyrite regiments would swoop in, attack from behind, and trap the rebels in between. It was simple strategy, and Pink Diamond herself had signed off on it. 

Larimar had several concerns about this plan. If they could repel the cavalry charge, the Homeworld forces would lose quickly. But she knew better than to take her concerns to anyone. After all, the Tourmaline strategists were designed to plan for everything. She shuddered with anticipation over the coming fight, then looked up. The star that Earth orbited was sinking below the horizon, casting wild shades of pink and blue across the sky. For a little while, the majestic swirl of colors made it seem like everything was going to be alright. 

A loud yell snapped her out of the moment. “All units, begin to lay down fire NOW!” the Hessonite commander snapped from behind her. She hurriedly checked the ammunition, then put on the aiming visor. A audible gasp escaped her lips, mimicked in the similar expressions of incredulity around her. A Gem in a white dress and a head of pink curls was decimating the Amethysts, whipping her sword around an elegant yet deadly display. So this must be Rose Quartz. Larimar noted her ferocity in battle, her lips always curled into a scowl. In the distance, several rebels had fused to decimate the Pyrite charge, their yellow gems covering the battlefield in a morbid display.

She was vaguely aware of Hessonite screaming behind her. She just couldn’t peel her eyes away, watching as Amethysts ran headlong into their doom, as countless others were shattered under the feet of the Crystal Gems. Suddenly aware of her inaction, she grabbed the control handles, and began furiously firing into the chaos. The other Larimars followed suit, with large bursts of energy exploding across the battlefield seconds later. Hardly thinking, she continually readjusted her aim, dissipating several dozen rebels with methodological precision.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rose Quartz fending off several Jaspers who’d managed surround her. Grinning smugly, she turned her battery towards the sword-wielding traitor. "This will be the end of the rebellion", she muttered to herself with glee. "The grunts down there had failed, but artillery will guarantee triumph for the Diamond Authority!" Quickly running through distance calculations, she reduced the angle slightly, taking an extra moment to relish in what she was going to do. 

Suddenly, a spear impaled itself in her firing tube. She looked up to see a Pearl with fury on her face lunging towards her. Quickly leaping from her battery, she began to sprint towards where the ships had landed, fear forcing her to not look back. The cut-off scream of another Larimar only strengthened this impulse. Tears beginning to collect in her eyes, she kept running, guilt welling up with every horrified yell she could hear. The ships came into view, just a few dozen more units left…

Her vision blurred, and her knees gave out. For some reason, she could hear a loud shriek of pain, her muddled thoughts attempting to figure out its origin before realizing that SHE was the one screaming. Turning on her back, she lifted her head up to see that same spear buried in her abdomen. She struggled to pull it out, but the strength required to do so was seeping out of her. 

She could see a lithe form getting closer in the corner of her eye. Even through her unfocused vision, she could tell exactly who it was. The renegade Pearl. Out of all the damned Gems to get to her, it had to be the servant with the pointed stick. She felt a foot upon her chest, glancing up to look into the stone-cold eyes that glared down at her. All she had to do was get up, fight, just summon her stupid claw, ANYTHING to go down here. But she couldn't muster the energy. 

"It's nothing personal." the rebel said, a sardonic smile creeping on to her face. "It's just war." Her long fingers grasped spear, and as Larimar looked on in horror the Pearl began to twist her weapon. A massive burst of pain, great and burning and crushing, exploded through her body. Suddenly her mind went blank, totally and completely, as her form was sucked into her gem. The last thing she ever felt as a spear smashed through her gem was regret, a horrible sense that she was going to be a casualty in a war that would burn everything it touched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like perspectives of Homeworld gems would be interesting, their experience in a war they had no choice but to fight in, and the varying levels of enthusiasm for said conflict. Comment if you have questions or critiques.


	5. Pink Curls Don't a Leader Make

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, so I'm very sorry. I had to get reacquainted with classes starting, and it took me a bit to get back to this. Not sure how I feel about this chapter. I like the idea, not sure how well I executed it. Comments and kudos are appreciated.

The treatment of Peridots within the Gem caste system was an interesting contradiction. Officially, they hold a place in the great hierarchy only beneath the upper bureaucracy and the courts of the Diamonds. After all, they were vital in creating kindergartens, as well as the massive amount technical work and innovation that an intergalactic empire needed on a daily basis. The green technicians had the literal duty to oversee the continuation of Gemkind. Nevertheless, one would be hard-pressed to find a Gem, from the lowly Amber maintenance workers to the Diamond matriarchs themselves, who had never taunted, picked on, or joked about Peridots. Looked down upon by most, in spite of their occupations, they held the unfortunate honor of being ignored and laughed at simultaneously. When a Peridot was doing something, no one thought anything of it, besides maybe a wisecrack at her expense.

It was this derisive attitude that allowed Peridots to go pretty much anywhere unquestioned. Perfect for a Gem whose loyalties lay in places other than Homeworld. Despite her slightly trembling fists and the beads of sweat that occasionally appeared on her stiff-lipped face, none of the Agates or Morganites that occasionally bustled by Peridot QS3 seemed to notice. She’d been navigating the monstrous archive on Facet 12, infamous for its curious architecture. 

For reasons unknown, rather than just creating subterranean floors, the Chiastolite digging crews had been ordered to create a tortuous series of tunnels. The paths defied all logic, taking random twists and turns so confounding that it was rumored even the Jade archivists, seemingly able to remember everything, had gotten lost a few times. These lost Gems became the fuel for suspense stories involving narrow escapes or being stuck down there forever, and the occasional missing Chalk or Pearl had only added to the strange mythos that swirled around the place. 

This wasn’t the only reason her nervousness was expressing itself, though. Treason before the Rebellion was virtually unheard of and resulted in instant shattering. Now that an active insurgency was taking place, the punishment unsurprisingly hadn’t changed. Sent back to Homeworld on reassignment from her Diamond, Rose Quartz had given Peridot a mission to take crucial files from the archives. Here was where it could all fall apart. If a Gem found her suspicious, or asked her for authorization seals, it would all be over. 

As her large frame walked through tunnels, surrounded by glowing monitors, she could feel the tension in the air every time someone shoved by. Attempting to ignore the sinking feeling that she might be caught, the technician began to anxiously message her triangular gem, conveniently located on the outside of her thigh. This helped her relax, if only a little, as she came to an awkwardly abrupt dip in the path. Normally pristine and crystalline in nature, the walls of the incline turned mottled and stained, while the path itself had begun crack. She had reached the older parts of the archive, the parts that were so deep and old that the maintenance crews refused to go near them. No one was quite sure what they were afraid of, but whatever it was had made it so large sections of the underground maze had fallen into a state of degradation. The information itself was fine. Millennia ago, the tunnels had been coated in sensors that continually monitored the state of the data, providing an easy excuse for those who were already to weary enough to not want to enter. 

As she inched down the incline, hands pressed against the side of the wall, she noticed that the metal tiles beneath her feet had been slowly giving way to an all-rock floor. Finally she reached the bottom, cautiously continuing down the winding path after a moment of hesitation. She could feel the moisture in the air, a blanket that hung over her constantly. The lights had slowly gotten dimmer, to the point where her only respite from constant darkness was the occasional flickering lamp, an eerie beacon in the sea of blackness she tread through. She could only hope that the next batch of Peridots would be able to project light from their gems.

As it turns out, the file she was looking for wasn’t a file at all. It was a data crystal, an old method of storing information on small portable devices. Peridot managed to let out a small chuckle despite her situation. It’d been a few thousand years since they’d been phased out, but some technicians still used them occasionally. Old reliable, the elder Gems would mutter under their breath, would always be better than whatever interconnected network was in place now. She picked up the delicate pink device, checked the serial code just to make sure, and then allowed herself a heavy sigh of relief. 

As the huff echoed out through the tunnels, a sudden scuff responded back from the distance. Peridot froze in place, mind racing to figure out what in the name of the Diamonds could be down here. She quickly ran through the list of possibilities, and didn’t like what came up. It was either another Gem, or something else entirely. The scuff turned into a rapid shuffling, approaching her with new speed, and she decided she wouldn’t stick around to confirm her guesses. After clipping the crystal to her waist, she turned and began to run, a clumsy movement due to her lack of visibility. She stumbled over an uneven surface, face-planting hard as her visor flew from her face to clatter against a wall. 

As she pushed up from the ground, a thin form lunged on her, clawing with unnatural ferocity. What horrific unknown creature had attacked her, she wasn’t sure. But identifying it could wait. Grabbing the figure as it attempted to crawl over her head, Peridot flung it to the floor, watching as her attacker slammed into the brittle rock. Reaching to her leg, she pulled out her ball flail and prepared to bludgeon this beast into submission. 

As she began to twirl it slowly, she slowly walked over to the assailant, raising her weapon to strike when a whimper caught her off-guard. After several coughs from the incapacitated figure, Peridot realized with a bolt of shock that this was no monster, but in fact another Gem. The barely working light overhead allowed her to identify a Rutile, ragged and disheveled. The pale red aggressor suddenly glanced into her eyes, and Peridot could see mind that had long since snapped in these dank caverns . 

“Oh-hoo, a techie! ‘s been a bit since we’ve seen one of you down here…” The Rutile said, adopting a deranged tone. 

“We?” Peridot asked, still uncertain as to why this Gem had lunged at her.

“Oh yes! We! Me and my friends, my friends and I, all down here together, watching you,” She nodded back with total sincerity, “take the glow. Steal the glow, you did!” The Rutile frantically pointed to the data crystal, eyes wide with fear. “You can’t know… you can’t have the Gem-killer’s secrets. Belongs to no one, it does.”

Her speech fluctuated wildly in tone, going from nearly screeching to a disturbed mutter. She also seemed to be suffering from multiple delusions, although Peridot couldn’t be sure just how broken her mind was. How long would she have had to been down here to act like THIS? Who was this “Gem-killer? Who else did she think was down here?

“Artificial, artificial, Quartzy’s only superficial!” She began unhinged chant, a simple rhyme that made little sense to the green Gem. Peridot was still very uncertain, although she put away her weapon and took a step back. Immediately, the crazed Rutile leapt to her feet, and grabbed her shoulders with frightening intensity. 

“You’ll create your own downfall, you know…Pink curls don’t a leader make. Take care of the broken fake.” Her voice was now completely calm, her eyes adopting a steely look that contrasted with her insanity moments before. 

“Shattering, shattering, shattering…” The maniac Gem removed her hands, than without warning sprinted back down the tunnel, murmuring the same word over and over. 

Peridot just stood there, staring down the dark path that the Rutile had just entered. What had just happened? She wasn’t entirely sure, and as she picked up her scratched visor, the demented rhyme ran through her head.

“Pink curls…Gem-killer… what on Homeworld could possibly in this crystal?” She asked herself, slowly taking it from her abdomen and activating it. 

It began a resonant hum, while data projected outward in a flickering unsteady hologram. She read the information in silence. 

It was a very old report, detailing the capture of a defective Emerald. Apparently, she had received a dose of lead before emerging, and this had been enough to make the fleet commander lose her mind. She’d gone on a killing spree, getting nearly all of her crew before convincingly faking her own shattering with a decoy gem. If it hadn’t been for a nearby Ruby who witnessed the whole thing, the report said, it was very likely that investigators would’ve assumed the Emerald to have been shattered. There was also data on how this lunatic had been able to make a convincing fake, instructions that sent a shiver down Peridot’s back. 

What did Rose need with this information? Was the Rutile talking about her when she referenced "pink curls?" How did she even know what was happening outside of the tunnels? Peridot let questions bubble up to the surface of her mind before ruthlessly suppressing them. She had a mission to accomplish, and she couldn't let her inquisitiveness get in the way,

She was sure Rose wouldn’t even need the information to begin with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that this is an Era-1 Peridot. So she's larger, along with several of my own creative edits. I do like the thought that Homeworld has its own unique brand of craziness, whether it be buildings or Gems themselves. Leave any questions or critiques in the comments.


	6. A Lovely Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry about the inconsistent timing, but my classes are proving to be a time vacuum. Anyway, Chapter 6 is here! Thank you all so much for over 350 hits. It may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but each hit matters to me.  
> This chapter is...darker then the previous ones. Not sure if I should include a trigger warning, but be warned that the main character is quite sadistic. Throw them in a war and... well, you connect the dots. Comments and kudos are appreciated.

Onyxes were unusually resistant, even for the job they performed. Making up the entirety of the Gem Combat Engineering Corps, their job of laying mines as well as building or destroying structures with frantic efficiency meant their gem had to have an extremely high durability. The fact that they were a division of the Gem Army further proved that. And yet, even the oldest Gems could probably count on one hand the number of times they’d seen one poofed.

Often times, the Amethysts would take bets on what they could survive, to which one of the engineers would happily take up. Starship collisions, temple collapses, impalement, warp pad explosions, direct hits to the gem by a Citrine sharpshooter; the list went on with some dedicated gamblers continually updating it with more improbable and risky stunts each time. There were even rumors that one particularly old Onyx was able to withstand several aura blasts from Yellow Diamond. Some attributed this toughness to a blessing from the Diamonds, others to pure luck. Onyxes themselves were unaware of what made them so particularly tough.

Blessing or luck, Onyx JF9 had decided that it was a fortunate thing for one to have, especially while dodging rebel fire as she was now doing. _The problem with just doing what you love_ , she thought as she bolted to the right to avoid a thrown spear, _was when what you loved happened to be laying mines in the path of an army of traitors_. An artillery blast just behind her told her that she was starting to become a high-priority target. Onyxes were rare, but could devastate platoons if unchecked, so stopping them was particularly important. Then again, it wouldn’t even matter. She was there on her own accord, not under any orders. She had Gems to hunt, and frankly couldn't be bothered with waiting for generals to give commands.

A glaive soared into her neck, followed by a flurry of throwing stars. She took a brief pause to reach around and remove the annoyances, before leaping into a nearby tree. She could hear the shouts of the rebels, beginning to fan out in an attempt to find her. The light of the orange moon floating heavy in the sky revealed the soldiers she’d be taking care of tonight. _So the game begins_ , she mused with an unemotional smile. A she awkwardly jumped from tree to tree, she began to assess who’d be fortunate enough to be her prey. _Couple dozen Amethysts as always…looks like a few Rubies and Jaspers…Seven Aquamarine air patrols. Huh._ Those were new. Apparently, Rose Quartz wasn’t playing around this time. Well neither was she. _Is that…It is! Score!_ She grinned again, this time with noticeable enthusiasm. A Topaz-Chiastolite fusion was stalking through the dense brush, spindly arms holding a staff with a drill head at the top. This was her chance to shatter a fusion, and by the Diamonds she was going to take it.

 _You’ll be getting it soon enough_ , she chuckled as she dropped into a particularly large bush. It was time to bag a few shards. The largest Jasper was cautiously making her way through the forest, helmet on her head. She was dangerously close to Onyx’s hiding spot, but the sleek black Gem wasn’t all that concerned. She picked up a nearby stick, and after a few tense moments broke it in half with a loud crack. The orange warrior whirled around, and after seeing Onyx pop her head out of the bush with her tongue out, stormed towards her.

“C’mere, you sneaky lit-” was as far as she got in her threat before stepping on a concealed metal plate. Onyx watched calmly as the warrior bucked her head in torment, bursts of white light shooting up her legs. The Jasper’s eyes began glowing a sickly yellow shade as crackling energy bolts began to erupt from her abdominal gem. After letting out a haunting scream filled with agony, her gem shattered, violently exploding outwards as her physical form collapsed in on itself, never to be seen again.

The shattering was always the best part for Onyx. She’d forever enjoyed the contorted facial expressions of her prey as they died. If the gem splintered cleanly, she’d take a chunk of it as a souvenir, adding it to a string of past victims.

 _Probably why I’ve got no friends_ , she reflected as she moved onto the next target. The others had called her ridiculous names. _Monster. Deranged. Sadist_. That last one she actually hadn’t objected to. It was true, after all. She loved the thrill she got as Gems met their doom from her handiwork. They were the enemy after all. A convenient source of fresh crystal to hunt. As long as she did her job, why was it an issue that she relished in the slaughter? She began to cackle loudly as a group of Amethysts ran towards her only to get poofed by an explosion of sharp metal piercings bursting out from under them.

All around her she could hear wailing, screaming, sobbing, a demented melody of misery that she was conducting. She reveled in it, the pure fear radiating out from all sides as Gems shattered and poofed. She laughed even harder as the Aquamarines tried to dive bomb her, only to get blown out of the sky as an explosive shot off the ground to meet them midair. She grabbed a trunk, spinning around it several times before leaping off and landing in an exaggerated bow. Behind her, the last Ruby fragmented into a light red dust, ending Onyx’s performance with a revolting flourish.

 _It’s time for a satisfying close_. That fusion was still out there, and its very existence was criminal. She didn’t really care about fusion. The others would go rants about “unnatural abominations” whenever cross-Gem fusion was mentioned. For her, fusion was a good thing. It made her targets more of a challenge, and how could she say no to that?

“Does there happen to be a lonely monster in these woods?” Onyx called, mockery hanging off of every word.

“I’d love to meet you. Your rebel manifesto says that fusion can create new and unique personalities, and I’ll admit to wanting to know what **your** particular mix is like.”

She got silence in response. _So that’s how it’s going to be._ The ones who hid were always the worst. There was little joy to be had in shattering a gem whose cowardice prevented them from putting up a fight. No fun in that.

She slowly walked through the brush, whistling a tune she’d picked up from the humans that sporadically inhabited this landmass. _Come out, come out, wherever you are…_ Walking by the pile of powdered Ruby, she grabbed a handful and threw it in the air, doing a little twirl as the motes of crimson slowly fell around her.

Giggling slightly, she threw up her second handful, preparing to do another twirl, when she felt something suddenly grab her neck. She was yanked into the air by a gangly arm, and following it up to the owner, she could see her target. _The fusion!_ Despite her situation, she managed a laugh, one that quickly tapered off once her eyes focused on the fusion’s face.

It was **wrong**. There was no fear, no whimpering, no pleading for mercy like the others. There were tears, sure, and yet the steely look in her ice-blue eyes told Onyx that she’d moved past mourning and into a rage.

 _Might have underestimated th-hrk!_ Her thoughts were cut off as the fusion slammed her head into a trunk. The bark exploded outwards as the upper half of the tree toppled over. The fusion’s grip tightened, and as she leaped down from the branches, she took the time to punch Onyx straight in the gem.

 _For all the good that’ll do you_. Onyx had taken tougher beatings. Her durability wouldn’t succumb because a few punches and slams. This pathetic amalgamation of anger and misery couldn’t do a thing. What did bother the black mine-layer was the fusion’s silence. This wasn’t how you killed someone. You taunted them, especially if it was up close and personal. You made dramatic statements before the kill, you grimly quipped, you did **something**! This was all wrong. She was supposed to find the fusion whimpering in a corner, not actively fighting back!

As she lifted Onyx up to meet her drill staff, the fusion stopped, turning her head to look Onyx in the eye.

“You are evil. You take... pleasure in the death of gems.” the fusion said with wavering determination in her voice. A stab of grief reached through. “My…my friends…you just shattered them all…”

It was in this vulnerable moment of grief that Onyx finally managed to grab the spare fracture mine strapped to her torso and slam it into the fusion’s face.

A disjointed howl rang out as she clutched the mine, futilely attempting to remove it. Onyx dropped to ground, sprang up, and backed away slowly. As she looked on, energy pulsed through the fusion, sparking and arching in a beautifully morbid display.

 _That’s what you get for mourning, clod_. Onyx remained straight-faced as two gems splintered and burst apart, scattering fragments everywhere. _Could’ve put up a better fight_.

As she picked up the shards to add to her collection, she resumed whistling the Earth-tune. War was such a lovely thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Gem minds seem to function in a very human way, it makes sense to me that there would be certain outliers, such as sadists. Not sure how well I pulled this one off, seeing as this is the first time I focused more on dialogue. Also wanted to do a story a little more disconnected from canon, kinda like Chapter 3 (which will be brought up later, don't worry). Comment if you have any questions or critiques.


	7. Close Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I doubt anyone's still here at this point, but I'm SO sorry for the delay. Real life hit like a damn bus, and it took me a bit to get this out. Thank you for sticking through! Nevertheless, here we are! A fresh new chapter. I kinda feel that Pink's little Palpatine-esque "I control both sides" was a little messed up, so I took it and ran. Please don't crucify me for that. Comments and kudos are appreciated.
> 
> Edit- Extensive changes have been made to the end bit thanks to the user SpaceDimentio. Their comments on Pink Diamond's psyche were super insightful, and inspired me to change this chapter in what I feel is a positive way. Their contribution was invaluable, and definitely check them out!

The relation of the Gempire to other intergalactic territories is a tenuous one at best. The Gempire isn’t the largest nor the oldest, but it has existed virtually unchallenged for millennia due to its sheer aggressiveness. No other state has been able to match the ruthlessness the Gems have achieved in their imperialistic forays. Of course, this doesn’t mean the rest of the universe hasn’t been proactive in combating the crystalline menace. Several empires have militarized their border planets with the Gems, who’ve done the same on their end. Often times whole worlds have become bartering tools in trade deals: the Gems get a planet to purge and colonize, the other civilization receiving one that has whatever it desires.

This sort of intergalactic game was not unusual. It was the only way to prevent a devastating war where no one would win. Truly it was a stalemate, for neither the Gems nor the states allied against them had any real knowledge of the other side. Intelligence-gathering was made impossible by the fact that Gems and organics were completely recognizable to each other. One couldn’t be a sentient polymorphic rock and not get noticed when the rest of the universe is all biomatter and such. It didn’t help that pretty much no Gem had ever strayed past the confines of their empire, forbidden to do so by the ethnocentric matriarchs who ruled it. In fact, there were several rewards for just pictures of a Gem, as well as some more unscrupulous bounties on capturing one live.

It came as a surprise then that no credit-hungry mobsters were swarming Obsidian 0AE as she sat at the bar, staring contemplatively at her frothing drink. This bar had been a favorite of hers, ever since she’d first learned how to shapeshift a digestive tract and taste buds. The booze was terrible by organic standards, but it had a high alcohol content. A small smile reached her lips as she remembered the first time she’d given herself a nervous system to feel what organics called “intoxication.” A blurred rush of recollections had accompanied that particular experience, and she hadn’t really been able to tell what they liked so much about it.

Nevertheless, she felt like maybe getting drunk was a better feeling than the one she’d been weathering for the past five decades. A sickening sensation, one that clawed at her and threatened to consume her sanity if she thought about it for too long. A memory that dwelt in her Gem, twisting and lurking and waiting for her concentration to lapse so she could experience it all over again…

* * *

 

_It was surprisingly easy to sneak on to the rebel encampment. For all the progress along the fourth front, the brutal year-long battles to gain the ground they now occupied, the followers of Rose Quartz seemed to completely lack any sense of caution. She’d been able to slip past the sentries and guards that surrounded the rebel base. Dodging through the columns and pillars of the run down temple the traitors had decided to hole up in, she managed to slip through undetected._

_From preliminary data collection, it seemed that Rose Quartz mostly frequented a waterfall close to this temple, and the strategy table. It was in one of these locations that Obsidian would strike, depriving the rabble-rousers of their charismatic leader, their strategic master, and their most fearsome warrior. The rebellion would crumble as the sealant that held these radically different Gems together suddenly disappeared. It would be total victory for Homeworld, as their troops would march in, shatter them all, and end this annoyance to the Authority once and for all._

_Yet for all that was riding on this mission, she wondered if they perhaps could’ve sent anyone else. It’d be difficult, seeing as Obsidians were extremely rare owing to how difficult it was to grow one. There were only about a hundred of them spread across the Empire, and it was with good reason that the Diamonds kept them as far away from each other as possible._

_Obsidians were the executioners of the Great Hierarchy. Extensively armored, yet still agile. Stronger than average, and smarter in every way too. Most radical of all was the retractable spike that protruded from the wrists, a blade so jagged and piercing that it could shatter nearly any gem with ease. The result of all these abnormal factors created unusually liberated Gems, who had no inherent loyalties. Had the Obsidians met one another, a second revolution wasn’t a far-off possibility. It was the reason that White herself had put a stop to their production. Thus Obsidians were given much greater freedoms than other Gems, in an attempt at placation._

_She hadn’t really cared about the “Crystal Gems” initially. It didn’t take a Tourmaline to see that Homeworld would win, with all its strategies and technologies and sheer numbers. Against all odds, the ragtag group had not only managed to resist but WIN a few battles as well, creating neophytes of Rose Quartz in the process. It was why she’d been sent here in the first place. Their unprecedented successes had marked the pink warrior for death._

_As she looked down at the empty strategy room, she let out a quiet huff. Waterfall it was then. This made it more difficult, seeing as the Renegade Pearl had always accompanied Rose Quartz into the small cove. She’d have to shatter two Gems now. Making her way to through the maze of caves, she’d eventually heard the echo of voices discussing something, intermingled with some quite giggling. Eventually, the tunnel branched out into a serene area behind the falls. The natural beauty wasn’t what caught her, what made her head ache, what almost made her gasp before she hurriedly clasped a hand to her mouth._

_There, talking to the Renegade Pearl, was Pink Diamond. No, not talking… relaxing? Cuddling? Obsidian's incredulity hit her like a boulder, causing her thoughts to race.. The matriarch had a PEARL, a traitorous one at that, sitting in her LAP! Obsidian did a double take as her thoughts refused to reconcile themselves with what she’d just saw. As she continued to stare, disbelief plastered across her face, something happened._

_As if the universe was conspiring to shock her more and more, Pink’s form began to softly glow. She started to shrink, growing stockier, and her hair expanded into a massive head full of extensively curled waves and tubes. As Obsidian looked on, eyes as wide as saucers, the Diamond slowly morphed into… ROSE QUARTZ?!?!! Obsidian’s mind, previously sent a strong blow, tumbled over the metaphorical cliff at this point._

_Just…what? How? How could a DIAMOND be leading the damn rebellion? Why sacrifice lives on both sides, knowing you’re sending thousands to their doom? How had NOBODY figured this out? As her mind filled with questions, she began to slowly walk backwards, barely continuing to hold her already-tenuous grip on reality. Suddenly, her half-aware state came crashing down as she stumbled backwards, landing on the rocky ground with a reverberating thud._

_She shot to her feet, only to see the double diamonds of her leader’s eyes staring coldly into her._

* * *

 

The rest of the experience was mostly a blur. A hasty retreat to the outside temple, the days spent lying in hiding, the theft of a small starship…it all blended together in a frustrating mess of shock, anger, and misery. Suddenly feeling pained, she finished forming the rest of her digestive tract and quickly ingested the entire drink, a foamy stream of brown crashing into her mouth and down her newly-formed throat. The bartender, a sort of reptilian with small wings and matted hair, threw up a raised eyebrow as it watched the black gem chug down two more servings.

“Rough day, eh?”

Obsidian paused, staring at the lizard for a few seconds before responding with a sardonic laugh.

“Give or take a few years, but close enough.” Her conversational skills with organics had been fleshed out through rough experience, and had it not been for her appearance, she would’ve blended in perfectly.

“Job go wrong?” the lizard asked, drying a cup with a ragged cloth. “You been comin' here for longer than I been alive, see, and best as I can tell, you some sorta…rogue Gem or somethin’. Give off a mercenary vibe, ya do.”

She snorted as she turned her eyes towards the counter, staring at the polished wood surface. “Again, pretty close. You seem awfully interested in the story of a stranger.”

“I’m obligated by this here job to ask you ‘bout your day an' nod sympathetically,” it quipped, its lips parting into a toothy smile, “and besides, you’re a pretty unique customer, seein’ as your kind ain’t exactly the most social.”

She sent a non-committal grunt the reptilian’s way and deposited a small handful of credits on the counter after rummaging through the pouches on her belt. A long time ago, she’d been repulsed at the idea of wearing artificial garments, but it’d grown on her since. It also served the purpose of disguise, seeing as the Diamonds would probably overlook anyone with clothes on if they tried to come-

“No. PINK. Not the Diamonds. Just Pink.” She muttered to herself, interrupting the thought. “If any of the damned group come after me, it’ll be Pink.”

She took a few moments to collect herself before slowly walking towards the bar’s exit, to the swarming metropolis outside. Davpon 5, the starmaps had called it. A medium-sized planet in some dwarf galaxy far away from Gem Space. This had been her longest stay, a whopping total of four months. Staying later than that was a risky venture. Just because the matriarchy isolated the rest of the empire didn’t mean they were above hiring outside help. She’d had at least three bounty hunters on her tail, down from five after she’d had to unceremoniously kill the other two while they slept. She had no idea whether they were hired by Pink or the other Diamonds, and while she could point to the obvious choice, she'd decided a while back that it didn’t entirely matter.

Tall yellow buildings threw their shadows on the crowds below as the twin suns slowly began to dip towards the horizon. Obsidian shoved her way through the bustle, grey cloak and hood donned. As she made her way to the landing pads, something caught her eye. On a fountain, sitting calmly, was a being with long, pink hair. This in itself wasn’t unusual; organics had a wide variety of hair colors, many of them even taking the time and effort to change it to one they were not born with. No, there was something…wrong with this one. She sat in a manner that radiated that she absolutely had no place here, too professional, too…royal.

Obsidian froze on the spot, mind going completely blank. Slowly, the stranger turned to look to at her, revealing striking pink eyes with diamond irises. This was enough to kick-start her mind into action, and she began to run, discarding the cloak and leaping into the air to the astonishment of bystanders.

Latching on to the side of a building, she quickly scrambled up it, uncaring of if she was being pursued. She HAD to get out. Pink had found her, somehow, and she highly doubted the Diamond would want a chat. As she leaped across the tops of buildings, thoughts racing, she could swear she saw a pink form sprinting through the streets. She wasn't interested in stopping to confirm this, however.

Eventually she made it to the private landing pad she’d been able to rent, throwing herself through the concrete barrier that made up its floor. Hardly taking a moment to recover, she sprinted into the cockpit, slamming the entrance hatch shut with a thud. After running a frantic systems check on the onboard computer, she barely took a second to pause before locking down every entrance, closing every viewport, readying her spikes in anticipation of an upcoming brawl.

She had a chance, at least. She knew her weapon could shatter a Diamond, and Pink was the weakest. Yet she was a skilled warrior, seeing as her alter ego Rose Quartz had been able to best her own endless armies. Who could know what the sadistic leader was truly capable off? As she stood shaking next to the main entrance, weapon at the ready, she heard a calm voice start to speak that nearly made her yelp in surprise.

“Please…I don’t really want to hurt you. I promise.”

Despite her situation, Obsidian nearly let out a sarcastic laugh. Really. Is that what she said to the soldiers who were eternally loyal to her as she knowingly ordered them to march into their own deaths? She had manufactured a war, and NOW she didn’t want to hurt anyone? Who did she think she was fooling?

“It’s…I know it seems horrible, the rebellion and my…prominent role on both sides. I swear, I tried to leave, I tried to scare them off. I never…I never thought it’d come to this. Please believe me when I tell you this.”

She could hear footsteps approaching the ship, and saw the strain on the door as the Diamond attempted to open it. After a pause, she spoke again, her voice wavering.

“Please! Please, I-I beg of you!” Was that-FEAR? The Diamond's voice was tinged with a sort of desperation. Obsidian paused as she listened for more, curiosity overtaking survival instincts. "I need you to listen to me. Y-you found out something no-no one else was supposed to know. I-well it's... it'll ruin everything. I'll be shattered if Yellow found out, the Crystal gems destroyed, the Earth brutalized."

"Rose Quartz was a break, a relieve from the endless uncertainty and pressure. It's... it's who I truly am. I regret each death I've caused... it's not fair to anyone. But I can't go back to the other Diamonds, I just can't take it..."

Her voice tapered off, obviously overwhelmed with what she just said. Obsidian let out a sigh, debating what to do. If she opened the door, they could work something out. Maybe Pink would try to buy her silence if she was that desperate. On the other hand, she could be lying, a farce display to draw her out. Although... what she had said FELT real. Obsidian could relate in a way. She hated living under the hierarchy, listening to the orders of others for most of her life. She much preferred the personality she'd been able to develop independent of other Gems. Maybe Pink winning could change something, maybe Obsidian could find a place to call home, maybe...

Her hand reached towards the hatch, prepared to open it, when a sudden vision hit her. The first battle between the rebels and the Authority, where thousands of Homeworld gems had been slaughtered. Obsidian had seen that battle, watching as Rose Quartz mowed down soldiers, how Gems had been shattered underfoot, how the crystal shards had taken a week to fully collect in the aftermath. She had one particular memory in mind, when the Renegade Pearl had taken out the artillery. A Larimar had fled and the Pearl had gone out of her way to attack her, chasing and slowly poofing the diminutive Gem in a near-sadistic display.

No matter what Pink said, lives had been lost. Those Gems were on her hands, and the chaos on Earth had ruined so much. The Diamond may have found her true self in Rose Quartz, but part of that self was a murderer, no matter how well-intentioned her motives are, no matter how sad she got about it afterwards. Her hand faltered, her previous certainty lost. 

"You haven't said anything..."

She could here the Diamond taking a large breath.

'I'm sorry for what I'm about to do."

Several thuds reverberated through the ship as Obsidian felt the obviously frustrated Pink begin to pound on the door. With each collision the ship shook, yet the door held. As she edged her way to the cockpit, she silently thanked her past self for reinforcing the ship all those years ago. She slipped into the pilot seat, about to use the quick take-off procedure when a pink sword punched its way through the main viewport with a crack.

“I don't want to do this. You've given me no choice.”

The Diamond’s tone was calm, as if this was something that she did every day. Maybe it was.

“You're only making this harder!” she yelled as her sword burst through for a second time. Frustration managed to latch on to her words as the matriarch's mood turned sour.

Obsidian, barely thinking, slammed her spike into the blade as it punctured the viewport again. A nasty splintering arose from the sword as it cracked violently in several places at once. As Pink removed the blade, she let out loud 'NO!"

"You'll wreck everything! I WON'T LET YOU TEAR DOWN WHAT I'VE MADE!"

Taking this chance, she slammed down the acceleration lever, firing the ship out of the area quicker than the matriarch could react. The landing gear crumpled and smashed against the ground as the ship slowly gained lift, leaving behind long scrape-marks in the earth. Obsidian was hyperventilating, an action a part of her found odd seeing as respiration wasn’t necessary. The rest of her was too busy having a nervous breakdown.

That accursed schemer had found her after all. How in the name of White Diamond was she going to keep living like this, constantly being just marginally ahead of her foe? As the ship breached the planet’s stratosphere, heading towards the refuge that was the void, Obsidian put her head in her hands and gradually slowed down her breathing, trying to focus on anything else. Finally, she felt calm enough to get up and do another diagnostics check on the ship. The Diamond hadn’t actually inflicted any serious damage, and everything appeared to be in shape.

She had begun to pace in the cockpit, back and forth in a never ending loop when an idea struck her suddenly. She walked over to the navigation computer and began to scroll through a list of names. Finally, she saw one that satisfied her. “The Old Pink Dog Bar,” she read aloud, mulling the odd name over, before giving a short shrug and punching in the coordinates. She had no idea what this strange new place might be like, but she couldn’t have cared less at this point. She’d just evaded an emotionally conflicted warrior matriarch who hunted her down across light-years and likely wouldn't stop. Who she could also relate to in a way.

Obsidian needed a damned drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was... a thing. Again, these stories kind of vary in tone and style, so each one is kind of new ground for me. Thank you to everyone who stuck through my mini-intermission, and to anyone who's reading this now! Also, anyone catch that Hitchhiker's GUide to the Galaxy reference? Couldn't resist. Comment with any critiques or questions below.


	8. Take a Breath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for over 500 hits! I never imagined I'd even be able to pull in this many readers. It makes my heart feel all nice and warm knowing that so many have bothered to read what I crap out. Anyway, new chapter! I went a little experimental this time, more focused on a character, as well as changing up the structure of text itself. Tell me how I did! Comments and kudos are appreciated.

When they finally breach the fortress, there are loud cries of victory. After the artillery and the Topaz siege units and too many fusions to count, after an unbelievable amount of cycles around the Sun, there is an opening at last. A blast has hit a weak point, creating a hole in the imposing citadel.

Hess revels in these cheers, telling herself that this will soon be over. Most of her is ecstatic, revving herself up for the coming victory. She chooses to ignore the small part that frets and worries.

 

* * *

 

She’s being summoned for the third time this year. Homeworld has been… nervous recently. After several centuries of stalemates, pyrrhic victories, and crushing defeats, the Diamonds are starting to get antsy.

As she flies through the clear light that is warp space, she reflects on the progress of the war. Initially, the Tourmaline strategists had severely underestimated the rebel’s skills in battle. Severe losses had been accumulated, and the whole of leadership had been thrown into disarray. So then more troops were sent, as many as could be spared, and the conflict slowly began to escalate. The Prime Kindergarten on Earth was working at maximum capacity, churning out soldiers in a mad attempt to overrun the rebellious scum through sheer numbers. It had worked, to a degree. Ground was gained, losses on the other side had begun to pile up. Yet movement along all fronts had slowed, gradually turning into an unbreakable stalemate. Something had to be done.

This was where Hessonite 3EX came in. As a commander, she had the potential to organize the lines to their advantage, to pick up that lost momentum. She would brief Yellow Diamond, then begin the campaign for the beginning of Rose Quartz’s end. As the pale azure light vanished, she found herself staring up at the sharp-nosed matriarch.

“So,” Yellow began, her stentorian voice reverberating throughout the throne room, “You are the Gem that will lead our forces to glorious victory.” In any other leader, there would be enthusiasm in that statement. Coming from golden ruler, however, there was a hard edge to it, so sharp that Hessonite could almost feel the words cutting into her form.

Snapping into a hasty salute, Hessonite steeled herself before responding. “Yes, my Diamond. The war has stretched our forces into a stalemate. Changing this fact has been a struggle, but an issue it will be no longer.”

Walking to a holographic display of the battlefield that lay before her, Hessonite pointed to a glowing red area near the top of the map. As the Diamond continued to glare down in display of impatience, Hessonite bristled for a moment, then pressed on.

“In Sector 12G, there was an incident a few dozen years ago. A rogue Onyx violated orders, and attacked an enemy encampment by herself. Using a variety of traps and taunting methods, she was able to eliminate a sizeable portion of the rebel forces garrisoned there.”

At this, the Diamond leaned forward in masked interest. “What happened to this Onyx? Why not just continue to deploy her if she demonstrates this level of efficacy on her own?”

The orange commander looked down in hesitation. “Well, my Diamond, the Onyx was…defective.”

“DEFECTIVE!” The anger became palatable as static gathered in the air, emanating from the furious matriarch. “We’ve been fighting this war for centuries and a DAMNED DEFECTIVE IS THE _ONLY_ ONE WHO WAS EVEN ABLE TO MAKE A DENT?!?”

Yellow’s aura burst from her body, striking the walls in an awe-inspiring display. Several members of her court were poofed by the energy that arced and crackled through the air in the throne room. Hessonite quickly ducked behind the projector table, watching as Gems cowered and fled from their infuriated leader.

“ARE WE THAT INCOMPETENT? DO I NEED TO PERSONALLY SHATTER ALL THE GENERALS FOR BEING THAT IDIOTIC?” she bellowed, rage literally flying off of her.

From her hiding place, Hessonite poked her head out to view her Diamond. The situation had to be diffused.

“My Diamond! The defect was apprehended shortly after! Her mind was broken…she was devoid of empathy, feeling, a downright psychopathic warrior. As effective as she was, her tenuous loyalty relied on the fact that we provided her with a steady stream of targets. It’s impossible to say when she would have turned on our forces, but the risk outweighed the reward.”

The stream of energy died off slowly

The Diamond, seemingly calmed, gave a soft snort of dismissal.

“Continue,” she stated, voice professional as ever.

Hessonite cleared her throat in a failed attempt to dislodge the nervousness that had manifested within her.

“Sector 12G has remained weak since the Onyx attacked. If we muster up sufficient troops, we can establish a foothold in enemy territory. From there, we can continually push outwards, splitting the rebel lines.”

Yellow paused for a moment, then gave her nod of approval.

That was all that was needed.

 

* * *

 

She hadn’t meant to fall in with the revolution, as one never does. It hadn’t really happened, per say. More as if there was a day where she realized that the side she had been fighting for was constricting, stifling of any positive quality in favor of brutality and loyalty. Maybe it had been too much analysis of rebel propaganda. Maybe it was that she was tired of fighting for nothing, that she wanted a real cause to back. Whatever it was, she could only imagine how many Gems in Yellow Diamond’s court were poofed when she found out the commander she sent to win the war had defected.

She took a new name: Hess. Simple, not all that alien, yet unique in its brief nature. A whisper, a breath, something you barely had to open your mouth to say.

 

* * *

 

When the Aquamarine returns from scouting, she brings a wealth of useful information. Homeworld is preparing to warp in a secret weapon, unknown to anyone but the Andesine generals. What is interesting, Hess thinks, is that the scout reports when the generals had briefed the commanders and the corporals, even they had sounded hesitant. As if they were scared of their own advantage.

Nevertheless, drastic action must be taken. Homeworld must not be allowed to have any such thing be deployed.

So when Garnet asks Hess on the behalf of Rose Quartz to lead the attack on the fortress that has been erected around the Galaxy Warp, she agrees without second thought. Sure, the strategic side of her is worried, as an assessment of the forces present leads Hess to believe that she’ll be annihilated quite quickly.

Yet she has to. It is an action that must be taken, and a realistic assessment will not be able to cease the swinging pendulum of fate that guides her towards this battle.

 

* * *

 

The initial artillery shots are fired, and she looks on as the green bolts of energy explode against the crystalline fortress. The barrage will continue on throughout the whole battle, pounding away at the walls in a mystifying display of force.

Hess snaps out of her trance, and looks at the conglomeration of Gems behind her. Rubies, Jaspers, Pyrites, Flints... a mix of classes ready to fight as hard as they needed to win their new-found independence.

This inspiring image is shattered when the Citrine marksmen began to fire from inside the citadel. Yellow beams of energy pour out of the fort, crackling and whizzing through the air. Dozens are caught in the first volley, their forms dissipating under the assault.

The roar of Amethysts behind her confirm that it was in fact cover fire. She summons her rapier from the rectangular gem on her arm and prepares to battle all over again.

 

* * *

 

The conflict rages on, and it seems like everything is on fire. Long ago, the garrisons had stopped leaving to fight, content to wait for the rebels to tire themselves out.

That the troops inside the fort also seem content to use ranged weapons to eliminate her forces slowly, to bleed her dry, hardly bothers Hess. She has a plan, dozens of them really. So even as she watches shatter grenades take out a platoon leader, another fusion is being tried. It’s been like this for a while now. Mixing and matching Gems to create unique combinations in hopes of something being able to make more than a dent in that accursed fortress.

But what’s the point? What if it all means nothing? What if the superweapon gets here before they breach? What if Rose loses in the meantime and they get stranded? Best not to think in terms of what-ifs, she’s learned.

Hess takes a deep breath, then orders the new fusion to move in.

 

* * *

 

Sometime later, a wall collapses. She will later learn that this “sometime” was actually around thirty solar cycles. In the moment, however, she can hardly tell the difference between seconds and years. Nothing else matters. An entrance beckons.

The troops pour in, weapons ready. Spreading out through the halls of the citadel, she leads the rebels in a fight for each room. Every section is its own separate battleground, and she is determined to win them all.

Hess relishes in each soldier she poofs. This is the release she gets, after years of a siege. The ability to destroy unhindered is freeing, a lovely sensation that gets her rapier moving in ways that terrify the enemy.

 

* * *

 

They almost take it.

The main section, containing the Galaxy Warp, is where it all goes wrong. How could she have known that Homeworld would choose to use bombers on their own fortress? It appeared desperation had exceeded the risk of collateral damage, in the minds of the Diamonds. So she sprints through the corridors, her troops behind her, in race for an exit.

The first bombing run had eliminated nearly a third of her forces almost immediately. A less than strategic retreat had instantly been undertaken, fueled by a panic that spread through the ranks like a plague. No one wanted to wait around for the second one.

As all their progress is erased, as everything they worked and fought and died for disappears in the quickest of moments, Hess barely has time to regret.

A hole presents itself as an exit up ahead, and she takes it, leaping out of opening with as much force as possible. She hits the grass hard, but not hard enough to ignore the sounds of bombers coming around for the second run.

She looks on as the fortress gets demolished, all but the room with the Galaxy Warp reduced to rubble.

Hess takes a moment, gazing into the smoky sky, before letting out a sob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. A little depressing. Sorry (not really) about that. I won't promise anything, but the upcoming holiday may give me a chance to churn out either another chapter, or a third independent story. Maybe both if I feel that productive. So stay tuned! Comment with any questions or critiques.


	9. Necromancers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as you all can tell, I was NOT productive during Thanksgiving. I got into Undertale, then the new She-Ra, then I had to study for the SAT. So sorry. But here you go. Also, thank you all for over SIX HUNDRED hits. Very appreciative. This one has a warning for suicidal ideas and references, so please do not read if you find this sort stuff difficult to get through. Just to be safe. Kudos and comments are appreciated.
> 
> Edit: FINALLY I found the story that inspired the whole armor idea. I was half convinced that it didn't exist, but it kept nagging me. So I looked and I looked. Found it: Wasted Potential by Completely Different. Excellent psychological study of Yellow. Check it out.

When Blue Diamond issues the order, several Corals consider shattering themselves.

It’s the worst thing that any gem could be asked to do. Imagine, taking the fallen bits of one’s brethren, and being asked to make a sort of grotesque homage to war. How could their Diamond expect them to ever undertake such an abominable experiment? It violates the very sanctity of life itself! It’s…it’s too far. Blue must have gone mad.

Yet loyalty and fear of their matriarch overrides any moral qualms the Corals have about the task they are about to undertake. They wait for the first delivery, pensive and silent as the void of space. No one dares speak a word, for all are afraid of what might be said. An acknowledgement of what they were going to do, a condemnation of the Diamonds, even a sigh or a whimper…all would be too much for them.

The chime of the warp pad sounds from the other room, and 6GY winces at the reminder. 6GR goes to comfort her, then stops, too torn up herself to bother to provide consolation to others. The rest steel themselves.

The Amber walks into the room, pushing a hover-cart. Her eyes tell the scientists she knows exactly what she’s been carting around. Pauses for a moment, as if to say something. Leaves with silence remaining.

With nothing else to do, 6GU and 6GX began to unload the cart. There is a jingling sound as the contents spill into the central chamber. Hundreds upon hundreds of gem shards pile up. 6GU refuses to look anywhere but down as she holds the suction tube steady. 6GX doesn’t seem to be looking anywhere, just staring at some imaginary point in space. Eventually, the container is empty. Now comes the real work.

It’s torture, for the first few months. It’s also the hardest part of the task they have to do. Each shard needs to be individually scanned, to determine if any life magic has stuck around. This alone is grueling. The Corals have top-of-the-line equipment, but these things take time. Out of the estimated three thousand shards, only around six hundred have enough magic residue remaining to be useful. 6GY and 6GS work non-stop, collecting what they need. The rest are supposed to be incinerated. Blue views them as useless, not fit enough to even go to the harvesters. Luckily, she never bothers to check.

6GR, not having an assignment, manages to smuggle them away to an old Kindergarten, long since dead. She, nor her colleagues, know not why they go through with this small act of defiance. It’s just…it doesn’t feel right to just make them go up in flames. She even takes the time to attempt to match shard to entrance hole, as if the dead Gems need a familiar place to rest.

With the viable candidates sorted out, they begin to stray upon uncharted scientific territory. The Corals are forced to use some very new data from the lab in the Prime Kindergarten at Earth to go any farther. What they learn about is yet another gut-punch.

6GU, 6GX, and 6GQ are the experimenters. They have to see how the magic left in each shard can manifest itself. So they take polymorph-conduits, add bursts of concentrated life force, and see what happens. The results are horrific.

Bits of arms, legs, heads, torsos, manifest themselves. 6GX bursts into tears after the fifth one is tested. The others pretend to ignore her, and continue to work. A problem pops up, when the shards can’t maintain themselves without an external power source.  6GQ, rereading over the Earth data, realizes what needs to be done. Shards need to be fused together so the life magic can enter a feedback loop and sustain the whole structure. They take to calling these amalgamations “clusters.”

Finally, twenty-three separate clusters are created. Some needed only three shards, others over thirty. They sit there, staring at the scientists as they wait. The scans indicate that the remaining life magic barely had any sentience, but the assembled Gems would continue to swear on the name of White Diamond herself that the clusters knew what was happening, and were judging all those involved. The effect of their deployment would only bolster these superstitions.

As the Bismuths in the Great Forge create what is needed, 6GZ runs some basic tests with sheets of metallo-crystal from the scrap yard. By further fusing a cluster to the sheet, the cluster gains the ability to control it as if it were a physical form. Not only that, but the shards lack so much consciousness that they are loyal to the first thing that commands them. She runs more tests with beakers, biomatter, anything she can get her hands on in the immediate vicinity. It all works. And thus Blue’s plan will also work. 6GZ tries to be excited at this revelation, but not hard enough to completely eliminate the dread that lurks in some small part of her being.

Finally, the Bismuths come, lugging massive suits of armor. The weapons are similarly massive, nearly as large as a Jasper. 6GT and 6GV begin the fusing of a single cluster to an armor set, the weakest one they have. A field test is needed. Blue Diamond herself warps into the lab to see the genesis of the first warrior.

A purple glow emanates from the cluster as its conscience is melded with the armor. After about five minutes, the helmet shakes a little. With sudden smoothness, the armor stands up, emitting a loud creak that sounds almost like a scream of agony. 6GT, after waiting for Blue’s nod of approval, issues a simple set of commands. The thing marches forward, an Amethyst platoon following quickly behind, and steps on to the warp pad. The platoon follows, and then they are consumed in a blast of blue light.

 

* * *

 

It is a resounding success. The cluster had walked itself right to the front lines, shrugging off any attack leveled against it. Total decimation of the rebel forces in that sector of the battlefield. Blue Diamond had immediately ordered for the rest to be made battle-ready at once. Twenty-two more weapons are created, and sent right into battle.

6GY reads the reports that the Amethyst platoon sends back on the cluster’s performances. They are ferocious warriors, with no regard for mercy. The minute that they have finished massacring the rebel troops, they move on to the next. They don’t ever rest, as if driven by pure hunger for battle.

There is an uncomfortable silence among the Corals as that part is read out. 6GY stutters, than stops. She turns around, and without another word exits the room. The rest all look solemn. No one is sure how to feel. Obviously, the traitors need to be disposed of. They’d just be shattered anyway. Even still, the viciousness with which they do it astonishes even Homeworld’s soldiers.

Nevertheless, they’ve been given an order. Create more of these super weapons. The generals are hesitant. There was a massive siege on the Galaxy Warp, one only repulsed by bombers, just before the clusters were sent to Earth. The rebels are getting fiercer and more risky in their strategies, and Homeworld has only recently gained momentum on the front lines with the use of the clusters. If they fall, the fear is that momentum will slow and the stalemate will renew itself. But no one has the confidence-no, the foolishness-to ever challenge their matriarchs. So when another shipment of Gem shards comes, hauled in by another disturbed Amber, there is a sense of defeatism.

What’s the point? They are necromancers, disturbing the dead to make them fight one more battle. They are tempering with remains, reduced from scientists to creators of horror stories. They work with a robotic demeanor, barely speaking a word to anyone.

 

* * *

 

Gems have no religion, no mystical deity, no omnipotent being besides those who praise the Diamonds to the point of worship. There are superstitions, myths, tales, but nothing really to believe in. The Corals know, from a factual perspective, that these systems of belief exist, but likely are false. This knowledge doesn’t stymie the feelings, though. The feeling that some divine arbitrator of all that is good and all that is evil should come down and shatter each and every one of them.

When the report comes in, the group has no more surprise or misery to give. The clusters have lost all semblance of loyalty, madly attacking anything and everything in sight. Gems, organics, buildings, vehicles…none are safe as they rampage across the continent. The rebels have pulled back, and Homeworld has done the same, leaving a rapidly widening area where the armor slaughters everything. Blue Diamond is also on rampage, shattering gem after gem in her rage.

They are spared from her wrath. Yet they feel as if they’ve been punished anyway. Their horrible creations have only ruined an already-catastrophic situation. 6GQ, 6GS, 6GV, and 6GX disappear. Nobody says anything, but they all know what happened. Self-shattering is rare, but in this case the rest of the group is surprised that it took this long. Everyone had that self-loathing, despicable feeling built up inside. Of course some Gems couldn’t handle it.

Eventually, the situation is taken care of. After hundreds of causalities from attempts to stop the armor, a more destructive solution is taken. Onyxes lay down hundreds of shatter mines, surrounding the area in which the clusters have been rampaging. Intense artillery bombardments follow, and any cluster that isn’t incinerated by energy bolts gets shattered as they attempt to move towards the source of the attack. An intense amount of resources have been devoted to wiping out twenty-three targets. Blue is fuming, and her court is rumored to have been purposely avoiding the azure matriarch.

The Corals aren’t sure exactly what will be done with them. Most of them have been reassigned to different labs, with a few mysteriously being absorbed into the folds of Yellow Diamond’s court. The Verdelites have been working double-time to make sure this scandal doesn’t make it to the rest of the Gempire, and it’s been clear that despite the breakthroughs in magi-science made, the overall result is considered a failure.

 

* * *

 

 

6GR is one of the few reassigned to Yellow. She does standard lab work for several cycles, toiling away in an attempt to erase the years previous. Then she hears about a new project in the works. Highly secret, only known to the Diamonds. It’s called the Cluster, a dark reminder of her past work. She blindly hopes this reminder is in name only.

She listens to Yellow’s orders.

She wants to scream when she hears what she'll have to do.

She weeps for the cost of the war, and for the toll it will take on every Gem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was dark... sorry. Then again, war ain’t exactly a happy place. This is another new format, with a focus on a group more in the abstract. Again, not sure how well this came out. Comment with any critiques or questions.


	10. Part of Her is Screaming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's a little over a month later, and I'm back! I've realized that once every three to four weeks is probably as consistent as I'm going to get. Anyway, I'm very excited to have gotten to ten chapters out! Thank you all so much for sticking through and reading my crap. I have plans to release one or two other things I've been working on next week, so stay tuned for that. This chapter is...dark. Darker than usual. There's some scenes featuring violence that might be disturbing for some, so be cautious.

“7GE.” The Hessonite pauses, her orange skin glistening with precipitation dripping from the vegetation that towers around them. Her flat mouth quirks slightly, whether out of amusement or pity Amethyst doesn’t know. “Clearing duty.”

She mutters a quick curse, not bothering to hide it in front of a superior. Damn clearing duty. It had to be. Not that combat was preferable, of course. The lines had been hell. Rebels had been particularly fierce this rotation, resisting the slow push that Homeworld was exerting. She’d nearly cried with joy when she’d heard Yellow and Blue’s forces had joined the fray. Yet even still, progress was slow. Too slow. Even with nearly triple their forces, plus the bombers, the rebels were firmly planted in their territory. The Tourmalines had reported that every unit of land taken was hardly worth the sacrifice. Amethyst has learned to respect the Crystal Gem’s prowess, even through her unmitigated hatred of them. 

As she files into line behind the Jasper who led the clearing platoons, she receives several sympathetic looks. After the disaster with the clusters, no one is eager to do anything in the direction she’s about to go. Some of the others say that the shattered abominations’ life force can still be felt. It’s an unspoken agreement to never go near it, one even the rebels have seemingly taken. The Jasper yells for their attention, and she snaps into a salute. 

“Listen up, you lousy pebbles! We have orders from up above to clear out an area.” The orange Gem pauses for a moment to glare in their direction, then begins pacing back and forth. 

“Now these orders were stamped by Yellow Diamond herself.” Amethyst bristles for a moment. This was a big one. 

“SO! No screwing around, no half-assed jobs, no laziness. They’re building something mighty important, and it looks like it’s going to be a bit of a rush job. We do our duty, we do it well, then we get our gems out of there so the upper-crusts can start.” Jasper stops, pivots around, and yells “AM I UNDERSTOOD?!?” 

“YES, MA’AM!” comes the resounding reply. Jasper makes a chopping motion with her arm, and then the march begins. 

As they march through the dense foliage, 5HA softly elbows her. 

“You know what we’re doin’?” she whispers carefully, ensuring Jasper doesn’t overhear them. 

“Not entirely, nah.”

“What could be that important that they’d need a clearin’ job done this well? ‘s not like they’ll be around much longer once the greenies start messin’ with the atmosphere.”

She wants to agree, but something tells her it’ll be quite a while before they’re able to do any sort of terraforming. There wasn’t even a Lapis Lazuli on this damned planet, not with the rebels constantly besieging the ruins around the Galaxy Warp. There had been so much bombing from both sides, to the point where the island that it had been on was slowly being reduced to nothing. 

“Well, the Peridots can’t do much of anything, considering the fact that there’s a damn war going on. You forget about that?” She knows her response is snide, but sometimes 5HA could be a few cuts short of a whole gem. 

She gets a dirty look. After restraining a laugh, she resumes the conversation.

“Anyway, we have to take care of the rebellion first. We shatter Rose Quartz, we end this nonsense, and then we get to take a few years off as compensation.” 

5HA sighs in contentment, obviously imaging the rare luxury of not being at war. “Still. What in the name a’ White needs to be this thoroughly completed?” 

The Amethyst in front of her- 5JR, she thinks- turns her head slightly. “I heard they’re making another Kindergarten.”

There are uncomfortable noises from the troops around her that’ve been eavesdropping. Homeworld already was uncomfortable with having one Kindergarten on a planet with an active rebellion. Another one would be…strange to say the least. They could use the help, sure. But they’d have to adapt fast, or become cannon fodder. The amount of Gems used as fodder now already made the Iolite colonels uncomfortable. Yet it was unavoidable. Those that survived became better soldiers because of it. 

“Can’t be,” 5HA responds back. “We aren’t that desperate, are we?” 

The question goes unanswered, and no one speaks a word. The awkward silence follows them all the way until Jasper halts the march and yells for their attention.

“Our target is just over that ridge,” she begins, pointing to the mentioned area. “Roughly three hundred individuals, based on the scout’s report. Medium-sized village, sandstone make-up. Complete disposal needed, so pile up the remains in one area and wait for a Pyrite to come incinerate it.”

Everyone is a little tense with anticipation. This isn’t their first clearing, nor is it particularly dangerous. But even still, this won’t be an easy job. Humans hide, run, cower, or fight. It’s a royal pain to clear them all. Particularly annoying was when they cowered. Fighting was a small challenge, at least. Running or hiding meant that they could treat it like a game. 

Cowering was pathetic. To sit there, sobbing and shaking and pleading, rather than face your end with some degree of pride. Then again, it could hardly be expected of the species, the primitive organics that they were. 

“Alright, you bastards. Get going!” Jasper says, and they begin to run up the hill. Amethyst summons her axe, and hefts it in her arms as she sprints towards the village. Aiming for the nearest structure, she shifts her weight forward and explodes through the wall. Grating screams immediately follow.

She aims for the bigger human, tall and muscular. It tries to jolt back, but her axe slices through it, nearly cutting the body in half. The smaller of the two, a human with long hair, tries to flee. Another swing of her weapon makes its head come flying clean off. A cursory glance reveals no others, so she walks through the opposite wall, and into the street. 

The sounds hit her quickly, series of grunts and shouts and screams. She looks to the next building, and punches open an entrance. A group of small humans, only coming up to her knees in height, meet her with terrified eyes. She grabs the nearest one, and tosses it to the wall. Its head cracks open, bright red liquid oozing out slowly. A swing of the axe take care of the rest. 

Part of her is screaming too. Part of her is wailing, crying at her to stop this. To end this wholesale slaughter. They deserve as much a chance to survive in the madness as you do, it yells at her. She pauses, mid-swing, at this one. Don’t do this, it mutters. Stop this killing. Their lives mean no less than yours, primitive or not. 

Then the rest of her mind speaks up. Your life doesn’t matter, it reminds her. It is nothing compared to the Diamonds. You mean nothing without your purpose. So these humans, their lives hardly need warrant a thought at taking.

She grits her teeth and chases down a human who tries to flee the village, killing it with a forceful fist to its head. Racing back to take out another one with a sword. It’s clever, keeping its distance and dodging her swings quickly. She throws her axe, and as it lunges aside, she curls down into a spin dash. Before the human has a chance to react, her spinning form slams into it, and she can hear the crunch as its fragile body cracks and breaks. 

She manages to clear seven more buildings, encountering fifteen more fighters and dispatching them with relative ease. By the time she slices her last human to bits, a shout confirms that they’ve all been taken care of. The humans are all dead. The sandstone is painted red with organic fluids.

The hardest part of this job, she thinks, is lugging the remains to the pile. Humans are so…fragile. Pick up their bodies with too much force, and they fall apart. The red liquid that all humans had coursing through them manages to spill everywhere. It’s revolting, to be coated in organic material, to have to carry piles of body parts. Humans really were sickening. 

As Amethyst drops the bits of extremities onto the mountain of flesh, she hears a rumble, than a loud crash behind her. Some of the others are already starting demolition. The buildings would be smashed and crushed and slowly ground to dust. Reducing the human’s work to nothing. 

She turns and spin dashes into the nearest building, feeling the stone crumble under her weight. Over and over, she slams through the construct, until the only thing left is a littering of cracked rocks. Then she goes to the next. And the next. And the next. 

All she does is destroy, she realizes as she watches 5HA crush sandstone under her foot. She kills things, then helps get rid of them, then wrecks their villages. That’s all she’s ever done, since popping out of that hole in the wall of the Prime Kindergarten. Just disfiguring and wrecking and massacring everything. That's her existence.

Amethyst again slides this existentialist tangent out of her mind. She can’t focus on it, or she’ll go mad. Then she’ll be shattered, all over some sentimentalist nonsense.

Eventually, the sun slips below the horizon. The Pyrite finally comes, marching out of the forest randomly and reporting to Jasper. Amethyst watches as the golden Gem clenches her face in concentration, staring intently at the body pile. A sudden jet of flame bursts out of her outstretched hand, causing the remains to smolder and burn. The fire roars, loud and challenging. 

The other Amethysts are talking amongst themselves, laughing and boasting about this or that or the other. She wonders if any of them have those thoughts. The ones that nag you every so often, that make you regret, just for a moment, everything you’ve ever done since your creation. Jasper and the Pyrite are also talking, a calm, quiet conversation that seems surreal in front of a pile of flaming corpses. It barely feels real.

The flames lick at the night sky. Embers spring forth, leaping into the air, leaving streaks against the darkness above. It captivates her. All fire can do is incinerate, reduce things to ash. It just spreads and burns, destroying everything it touches.

Just like her, she thinks.

Just like her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That went places. The humans are all referred to as "it" because I figure not only do Gems not have a concept of gender, being from the homogeneous insular culture that they are, they don't consider humans even worthy of anything more than an "it." I feel like not all Amethysts would have whips, seeing as they're the standard soldiers, so I made it an axe. Creative liberties and such. In regards to the slaughter, I'm considering adding a warning for violence, or elevating the rating to a mature (or possibly both). What do you guys think? Comments and kudos are appreciated.


	11. All She Can See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a bit. Sorry. This chapter was annoying to write, and I frequently grew frustrated with it. Not totally proud of this one, but the next one should be better. If it seems a little all over the place, that's 'cause it is. Anyway, enjoy.

Putting a Gem in a mirror isn’t an easy task, as any Tanzanite could tell you.

Keeping the life-magic from diffusing out of the Gem once in an object isn’t easy. The mind transducers are notoriously finicky, and one wrong move can dissolve the neuro-geologic matrix, giving you an empty, lifeless gem. Linking the omnivisor to this matrix was nothing compared to that task.

In the end, one gets the perfect tool of interrogation. A question is asked, memory is accessed, and information is given. Over time, the mirrors could become temperamental, exhibiting old personality traits. The period of obedience was limited, so information extraction had to be quick and efficient with no time to spare.

Tanzanite 0BD is one of the better interrogators. It’s not arrogance. It’s just true. She knows more about the physical forms of Gems than nearly any other non-scientist.

So when an Iolite asks her to do this to a newly captured rebel, she thinks nothing of it.

This turns out to be a massive mistake.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hold it DOWN!” she yells at the Bismuth, who has been slowly backing away from the work table. Something has gone wrong. This was supposed to be routine. Yet now there were bursts of energy spewing from the mirror, and the gem was refusing to fit into place.

“Routine my gem.” She mutters, and picks up a pair of crystalline tongs. The Bismuth is now holding the mirror to the table, flinching at the random bursts of magic that explode out of the object at random.

Taking hold of the Lapis Lazuli gem, she pushes with all her might. If she can just get it in enough, the transducers would force the gem to stay put.

She feels the strain of the teardrop pushing back against the tongs. How strong was this damn Gem? It’s like pushing back against pure determination, so palpable that she can almost taste it. Tanzanite grits her teeth, and lays all her weight into the tongs. The sudden force pushes the gem into the mirror, and were it not for the blacksmith holding it still, she thinks it might explode. The mirror is vibrating like crazy one second, then suddenly goes still and silent.

She lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. She can see the transducers firing, as indicated by the pale yellow light the reflective surface is giving off.

For some reason, the blacksmith had made this one more intricate than necessary. A loop instead of a handle, with a flowing, layered border. Completely superfluous. She can’t understand this. It hardly matters, though. The deed is done.    

She’ll commence the interrogation later. Without bothering to address the Bismuth, she grabs the mirror and exits the room. The hallway is quiet, as it usually is. Rarely does anybody need to come to this wing of the base. She walks, as quickly as she can without running, to the nearest entrance, bursting out into the dark of the night.

Nights on Earth were unique, to say the least. The moon reflected back specters of sunlight, creating an eerie glow. The stars were so bright and numerous, it was as if the sky had shattered into millions of scintillating shards. A subtle melody arose from the trees, as the organic denizens of the dark awoke.

Setting the mirror down beside her, she sits against the wall of the base, taking it in. She doesn’t even realize she’s hyperventilating until her breathing begins to settle down. There’s a certain irony, a detached part if her notes, that something totally unnecessary is being used as a coping mechanism.

There’s a subtle mental shift, and the barriers fall. The walls that separate emotion from her duty. That hold back the accusations, the regrets, the storm of hatred and resentment at everything and everyone.

She tortures Gems. That’s her purpose. She was literally created with the job of inflicting pain on her own kind. She knew more about the physical form of Gems than most, because without that knowledge, how were you supposed to make them hurt?

She’d just condemned yet another to a horrible fate, to be forced into an object and ravaged for information. She feels the sob well up inside her, feels it crawling to her eyes, threatening to escape from her lips-

And she clamps down on it. Hard. There is no room for feelings. Her purpose is to do a job, and do it well. Emotional contamination is a risk she cannot take. She serves a larger purpose. What would Pink Diamond think, to see a Gem within the Great Hierarchy doubting itself?

She regains control. Pulls those walls back up. She turns to get the mirror, then hesitates.

The surface is cloudy, but reflective. The process is complete. The matrix is established.

The blue teardrop is dull, yet as she gingerly closes a palm around the handle, she can’t help but feel as if it’s staring at her.

 

* * *

 

 

She places the mirror into a slot on the wall, the only discernable feature in the stony-grey interrogation room. There’s a click, as the gem on its back sildes into the surface.

She takes a few steps back, methodically planning her movement.

“Mirror.”

She addresses the Ge-no, the object. It’s not a Gem. It’s a tool. Not a Gem. Not a Gem.

Something imperceptible shifts across the mirror’s surface. She can hear Tanzanite. The Lapis Lazuli trapped inside that mirror is aware if her.

“Mirror,” she repeats, to dispel any sentimental lingering, “show me what you know of the rebellion.”

Her own face, murky and distorted, stares back at her.

A snarl crawls its way on to her lips.

“MIRROR,” she snaps, caving into annoyance, “what do you know of the rebellion?”

Nothing happens.

“You gemforsaken piece of-“

Suddenly, a screech reverberates through the room. The mirror shakes, and the surface is a swirl of stormy grey. The noise is so droning and intense, she finds herself on her knees as her physical form frays and glitches.

She looks up to see the mirror let loose a burst of blue light, then go silent.

Slowly, she gets to her feet, and walks towards the wall. The mirror is glowing, a faint azure shine. But there is nothing. No memories. Nothing displayed.

For a moment, Tanzanite’s mind goes blank. Then rage. Blinding, white-hot rage seeps in. Lifting a fist, she slams it into the wall next to the mirror.

“SHOW ME WHAT I NEED! STOP PLAYING DUMB!” she screams, denting the wall with each blow.

The mirror stares back, impassive as ever.

“STOP IT! STOP…stop looking at me like that!”

No response.

“Just…let me…I have to.” Her punches slow to a stop. Her head falls, and she slides to the floor. Tears pool in her eyes. There’s no point. She broke it. She destroyed the life of an innocent Gem. There’s no information to be gained. Just pain and frustration and rage.

She’ll be shattered. Obviously. Failing to complete a task and disobeying the Diamonds were one and the same during war. She can’t keep this mirror.

So she gives it to someone else. Another Tanzanite, marginally better than her at information extraction. She pawns off her issue, and hopes the higher-ups can make a decision.

Tanzanites are rare outside of Earth. Interrogators usually aren’t needed when one’s empire is in the business of total organic extermination. Many of the ones alive are leftovers from the Great War, relics of millennia long past. Few were made after. She is one of those few.

Maybe that’s why she’s so pathetic. She hasn’t experienced any real conflict. She’s not tough like an Onyx, or intelligent like a Coral. She has one job. To hurt Gems, Gems who can’t fight back, Gems who’ve had their every sense of autonomy violated.

The other Tanzanites she passes the mirror to can’t get anything out of it. None seem to realize that they are interrogating an innocent. Eventually, it comes back to her. The mirror is put into her hands again, this time by a particularly peeved Iolite who storms off afterwards.

The gleaming blue teardrop stares up at her. Ironic, she thinks, that a prisoner in an object demonstrates more mettle than her. She hates it. Hates the damn mirror. Hates that she is required to do anything with it.

But she continues to ask questions and make threats and demand answers. The mirror never gives her anything. Ever. She spends weeks doing one thing she knows is futile, for if she ever stops she will be shattered. Whether she does it to herself, or the Diamonds do it to her, she will die. It’s only a matter of time.

This is the definition of insanity, she decides. In order to do what she is doing, to invest all one’s time and effort into something that is completely futile, she has to be cracked. Yet being damaged is grounds for shattering. She is stuck in a conundrum where she either dies, or dies later.

Her life is a perilous dodging game. She hasn’t had a rest cycle in months. The higher-ups hound her. Gems attempt to flag her down whenever she exits the interrogation room.

She can’t leave. Ever. She holes up in the interrogation room. Everything is unbearable. The mirror won’t stop just judging. It’s horrifying. IT won’t leave her alone. SHE won’t leave her alone. The Gem within the mirror is alive, she swears. She’s in there, mocking Tanzanite.

By the Diamonds, she can hear her whispering. Conspiring to ruin her. She’s apologized, and begged for forgiveness. She’s tried to get her to not resent her, but the mirror refuses.

She can’t get out. Never escape. She always sees it. The mirror. When she closes her eyes. When she looks away. She’s poofed herself more than once, and even within the safety of her own gem it’s all she can see.

Can’t escape can’t escape can’t escape can’t escape can’t escape can’tescapecan’tescapeca-

 

* * *

 

 

  Report 04572

Earth Base 03

Memorandum for Homeworld Command

Subject: Interrogation Device- Possible malfunction

Commanding Officer: Iolite 7RX

[DECODED]

            Interrogator 0BD was instructed to interrogate a defected Lapis Lazuli, designation unknown. Bismuth 2GD confirmed that said gem was implanted within a standard-unit reflective informational tool. Corporal 7RX ordered Interrogator 0BD to get the prisoner to reveal information pertaining to the rebellion. Interrogator 0BD did not make any further reports, and it is theorized that she began to actively avoid all superior officers, for reasons unknown. After over half a solar cycle with no reports, Ruby 7WI was ordered to lead a unit of Amethysts to confront Interrogator 0BD, who was found to have been in a mentally disturbed state. Interrogator 0BD was shattered, and security film extracted from the base reveals that it appears she had grown increasingly unstable after beginning interrogation. The informational tool was examined by the Science Division, who reported the tool was no longer responsive. Interviews of other Interrogators also mention the tool’s unresponsiveness. It is recommended that the tool be put into storage.

[REPORT CONCLUDED]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I delight in exploring the perspectives of those who do terrible things. Like I said above, I'm not really happy with this one. Couldn't figure out a good way to end it, so we end with a report. A cop-out, I know. Chapter 12 should be better. I do thing the very beginning of this one sounds like the opening to an episode of the Twilight Zone though.


	12. Flawless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. I played a little experiment with this one. Writing from White's perceptive is a really interesting study in the case of a sort-of-justified god complex. It's shorter than usual, so sorry for that. This is probably a little out of character, seeing as Change Your Mind sort of retcons some of my ideas about White, but this idea came before the episode, so understand that there may be some canonical discrepancies. Next chapter should be a little more action-orientated, seeing as the "shattering" of Pink is fast approaching. Thanks for the reads and the kudos.

It is a futile gesture to think one can hide anything from a god. Why, it’s in the very syntax of the statement! A god is omnipotent. A god knows all. A god sees all. There is nothing a god doesn’t know, and a god is easily able to detect when those below her demonstrate flagrant insubordination.

As if anything can be truly be kept from the majesty of White Diamond.

As if the Gems beneath her were anything more than scrapes of rock compared to her. That’s the point of coming first. She was there long before any other like her existed, and she will doubtless be here long after the last Chalks crumble into nothing. Such is the burden of being a deity.

 

* * *

 

 

When White was created, awareness rushed to her in a flash. She was surrounded by machinery, so complex and intricate she could barely decipher its purpose. Later, this world would be destroyed. Her origin isn’t important. It’s what comes after. The sowing of bits of herself to create new life. Slowly coming to the realization that Gemkind was perfection, with her the most perfect of all. Crafting the beginnings of an empire that would spread this perfection across the cosmos. White was superior to all. It would be wasteful, selfish even, to deny the universe the flawlessness that was the rule of the Diamond.

When White was created, all organic life trembled in response. As it should. An infection always fears a cure.

 

* * *

 

 

When Yellow was born, it was on an arid rock floating around a roaring supergiant. The atmosphere had long been scoured away. Jagged crystals dot the harsh red landscape, as predatory clusters of sentient radiation fight each other on their dying world. 

Of course, it wasn’t dying on the inside. Appearances can always be deceiving. The core contains so much life energy, funneled deep below, built up since time immemorial. All of it tinged in conflict. The perfect catalyst for a warrior.

When Yellow was born, she burst out of a mountain, energy arcing around her. White watched with such satisfaction, as the newly-formed matriarch comprehended her purpose, as she turned to White with a paradoxical mix of recognition and uncertainty in her eyes. She was the world-conqueror, destined to slay countless races for the good of the empire.

Over time, her purpose would become so much more than bloodshed.

 

* * *

 

When Blue was born, it was on a softer world. Covered in violet grasslands, savannas and oceans blossoming with life. Of course, life was no less vicious. Nearly everything on this planet killed, killed with such exquisite beauty and precision that even a young Yellow was able to admire it, no matter how inferior organic life may be. The life energy is deceptively calm, concealing harsh edges. The binary star system the planet is caught between means that under the illusion of stability, chaos brews. This dichotomy will serve the Gempire well.

When Blue was born, she slowly emerged from the pastures. She rose, as if awakening from a long slumber, and pulsed with an aura that drew tears out of Yellow. White was delighted, although she refused to let it show. An administrator, one with intense emotions and forceful empathy, able to command and delegate. With one tearful glance at the two Diamonds standing before her, she all at once understood her purpose. Three rulers, of a vast intergalactic empire that would scour all others from the universe and dominate for eternity, present at last.

As even more time passed, Blue would grow to see that she could do more than just administrate.

 

* * *

 

 

When Pink was created, millennia had gone by... many millennia. Thousands of worlds had been converted. Countless organics eliminated. So much _more_ of her had been spread into the hundreds of millions of Gems that exist now. A clockwork machine, with each cog working towards a common goal. All revering the impeccable authority of White Diamond. 

A war had been fought, a petty shooting match escalated into a conflict of unimaginable proportions. That had been…a setback. She had to have several stern words, so to speak, with Yellow and Blue. A few examples had to be made, in order to firmly implant the idea that Gems need never to fight one another. Authority was paramount, and if self-expression must be removed for the empire to function, so be it.

They’d expanded too far, overstretched what they had. A new leader was needed.

Pink was created. An inhabited world, bursting with life energy so bountiful it couldn’t be classified as any one type. The inhabitants were a necessary sacrifice for her creation. At least their insignificant lives could be utilized for something worthwhile.

When Pink was born, oh was that a day! She tumbled out of a hill, giggling right from the moment she emerged. Her personality was a force to be reckoned with. So many questions, such playfulness, and an insatiable desire to love everything she could. White gazed on serenely as Yellow and Blue cautiously start talking to their younger contemporary. 

They groomed her. At least, attempted to groom her. She would take organic pets, and they’d be put down. She’d try and commandeer a fleet, and Blue would have to put her in the Room. White had full confidence that these were quirks that would be ironed out. Pink would get there, to the professionalism of her fellow Diamonds, in time.

An error is made. Pink gets…involved with her Pearl. In a degenerate way, that involves feelings that should be insignificant, if not nonexistent. White immediately fixes this, giving the Pearl her essence. As the servant becomes part of her, she figures a swap of Pearls will be necessary. Meek little White Pearl becomes Pink Pearl. Flawed Pink Pearl becomes the obedient extension, the new White Pearl. Pink spends several centuries in the Room for this transgression.

Time passes. It is decided that Pink needs to be more Diamond-like in her responsibilities. She needs a colony. A planet was finally selected. She was ecstatic. She wanted to see the Gems emerge, to witness each formation of a new life.

Everything about this proves to be a mistake. A century or two later, and there is a rebellion. Foolish, impudent Gems, forgetting their place. Their creation was for _her_. White Diamond was not to be disrespected. She was their damn god, not to be disobeyed like some petty regional ruler.

But she doesn’t interfere. She sees the game Pink is playing. Gallivanting around with spare Pearls and fusions, off-colors and the defective. Oh, Pink. Always the mischievous one. Let Yellow and Blue get involved in that little squabble on Earth. It hardly makes a dent in the Gempire, with Verdelites carefully controlling who knows what.

Pink can have her fun. But she’ll come back. White knows she will.

 

* * *

 

 

As her ship descends into the courtyard, the massive pale torso is swarmed with advisors. Updates on the front. Status reports from around the empire. Orders that need to be signed, duplicated, and revised. She barely pays attention.

She’s a god. She knows exactly how everything was, is, and will be. Pink- Rose Quartz- is a laughable interruption. So White does nothing. Because she _knows_. Pink will be back. 

After all, everything has its place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know, a little out there. But I sort of like the idea of White as this impersonal, immensely powerful, condescending matriarch that knows waaaayyy more than anyone thinks she does, an idea that doesn't exactly match the show. The impetus for creating White Pearl being romantic involvement is an idea. Please don't kill me. Again, thank you all for reading. I have another, completely separate story in the works, so look forward to that.


	13. Shattered Delusions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update. Sorry that it took a bit, it's crunch time in school. Anyway, another good ol' fashioned tale of misery and suckiness. This one comes from the idea of pre-Steven Obsidian. We all love her, 'cause she's kick-ass and awesome, but I'd imagine the enemies who have to fight her probably won't share our opinions. Homeworld's forces would be pissing their nonexistent pants (with nonexistent urine, mind you). For 'Rainbow Obsidian," I think she's called that, I used Cumpie's model. It's really nice, check it out!  
> https://cumpi3.tumblr.com/post/165506142479

_It wasn’t supposed to be like this_ , Citrine thought futilely. Ash had long since stained her orange form a mottled grey, and the once-green field was reduced to smoke and flames.

Gem shards are everywhere.

Barely staying on her feet, she made her way through the battlefield. She skirted around the mangled remains of what was left of the artillery placements, and just barely avoided a shatter-mine’s late detonation.

She reached, at last, the top of a hill. From her vantage point, she could observe devastation she had never thought possible.

And in the far distance, wreathed in smoke, was that horrible shadow.

It arched its head back, and uttered out a roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of the backwater planet she was fighting on. She clenched her ears, gritting her teeth as the sheer power of the roar rolled over her.

This war was a mistake. No amount of Gems could’ve overcome _that_.

She collapsed to the ground, the last semblance of motivation gone, and wept among the remains of the fallen.

 

* * *

 

 

She couldn’t deny she was excited. It was hard not to be. _With what all the briefings have been saying for the past few cycles, we’re finally doing away with these half-formed lumps of chalk for good._

There were rumors flying everywhere. Most of the military hierarchy was being kept in the dark, purposely. The Diamonds had become intensely paranoid over spies and defectors in their ranks. Justifiably so, considering each major excursion had led to more defectors.

Even more pressing was…the incident. Citrine grew nervous just at the thought of it. Pink Diamond had been a kind leader, one who truly cared for all those beneath her. And the damned rebels...

 _They went too far with that one_ , she reflected, smirking despite the frantic energy coursing through her form.

The entire empire had all at once galvanized. Reinforcements were streaming in from across the colonies, an uncountable number of platoons all ready to do battle. It was the largest assembling of forces since the Great War. No one knew exactly what the plan was, but the oldest and highest-quality Tourmalines had been assembled for intense strategic planning. Every Andesine on Earth was in constant communication, all assembling based on this extensive scheme.

 _And here I am, watching it all_. She’d been stationed on Earth nearly since the beginning of the Rebellion, and she knew that the Crystal Gems were far from easy to fight. They were clever, utilizing the environment creatively, and their heavy use of fusion, no matter how perverse, gave them a definite edge. The fact that a static front had even been created was no small miracle.

Yet the death of Pink meant that something needed to be done. The traitors had prospered for long enough. The full might of the Diamond Authority was to be wrought upon them.

She’d been audience to a part of this build up. The Galaxy Warp had been operating non-stop, bringing a mix of Amethysts, Jaspers, Rubies, other Citrines, and a diverse group of specialized troops. The Fleet had warped into low orbit, bringing down Larimars and their batteries. The sound of fighters and bombers soaring overhead had been a constant for days on end.

It was hard to believe victory was anything but the obvious outcome. With the sheer amount of soldiers being thrust into this war, Homeworld’s forces would crush the rebels in a final decisive blow.

Days went by. The flow of munitions and troops slowed. And finally, Citrine heard the order to assemble.

She jogged over to where the other Citrines were, pushing through the crowd of hers to find the right platoon. She got there, just in the nick of time, as the marching order was given.

She reached to her right side, summoning her rifle in a swirl of magic from the gem on her side. Holding it diagonal across her chest, she began the long walk to the enemy, as the footsteps around her joined in the periodic thunder of the march.

 _There are Gems as far as the eye can see_ , she observed, enthusiasm building. From somewhere behind her, what sounds like a Jasper began to belt out a war song. Within seconds, thousands joined her. Citrine let loose a few verses, companionship with her fellows at a climax.

 

“ _We’ll crush Rose Quartz and all her Gems, give those perverts a fright;_

_For they lack reverence of the Pink, Blue, Yellow and White!_

_Give no quarter to Crystal Gems, and all their freaks and fusions,_

_‘Cause our swords, shells, axes, rifles will shatter their delusions!”_

 

It’s only after everyone quieted down for a while that a massive explosion suddenly hit the center. Citrine scrambled for her gun as panicked frenzy ensued. There was too many voices in the air, too many _shrieks_. A massive corkscrew blade swept through the group, and she dove to the ground to avoid it.

_WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE DIA-_

Her thoughts got cut off by a white heel, larger than she thought possible, slamming into the ranks. As she fumbled with her gun, she watched as an entire platoon of Amethysts disappeared under the giant extremity.

She finally got a handle on the rifle, and quickly swiveled it up to fire at-

At…

She couldn’t move. She couldn’t vocalize. Time seemed to stop, as her mind strained to comprehend the being that stood before her.

A Gem towered over everything, stretching as high as a Diamond.  Its violet skin clashed with the white bodice, various arm adornments, and leggings that wrapped around it. The stony-grey mask on its face contained a second pair of eyes, as pale curled hair billowed in the wind. A twinkling blue sash stretched out behind the massive figure, coming up to an uneven wrap around its waist. All but one of the monster’s eight arms held a weapon. Two had metallic maroon gauntlets, two held a large spear, pointing it at Citrine and her compatriots, and the final pair held a whip. The other hand contained a massive translucent shield, with the floral emblem of Rose Quartz plastered upon it.

Citrine’s mouth flapped open and shut, a physical expression of her shock. _This…is this a fusion?_ This defies all decency, as if the laws of the universe itself are defied in this…this thing.

Time suddenly started up again, as the fusion’s face detached from its head to reveal a mouth filled with dagger-like teeth. An orange glow began to build up.

_Gotta run, flee, gun won’t do a thing, gotta escape._

She gave up on coherent thought, dropped her gun, and ran. The intense blast of heat that suddenly hit her made her stumble, but she kept her balance. From her periphery, she saw a rolling wave of flame engulf the entire left flank. Artillery shells soared over her head, and she skidded to a stop to see what would happen.

The fusion raised its shield, deflecting the bolts of energy as if it were brushing away a Pebble. All the while, the spear made another sweep of the desperately retreating troops. A lash of the whip, and several bombers she didn’t even know were there fell from the sky.

She remanifested her rifle, and began to fire wildly at the monstrosities before her.. She heard other Citrines add to the volley, even as the blasts of verdant energy were absorbed into the fusion. But what else could she do? The situation was hopeless. What’s a gun going to do when strongest Jaspers were disposed of with the stomp of one massive foot?

The thing suddenly swiveled its head toward Citrine, eyes bursting with power, and a gauntleted fist rose in her direction.

Before she could even begin to run, the weapon arced towards her, and the world went dark with a boom.

 

* * *

 

 

She awoke suddenly, eyes flying open with an uncontrollably loud gasp. The landscape had turned to a singed wasteland. Gems are fighting everywhere, the abominable fusion is nowhere to be seen, and _By the Diamonds, everything hurts!_

The remains of what was once a tree have pinned her to the ground, and have damaged her form in ways that she was sure that she would notice if she wasn't in _so much damn pain_. Teeth gritted, she clawed the ground in a futile attempt to drag herself out of the crushing organic embrace. But the damned waste of matter was too heavy. And the battles around her raged, clangs of swords and spears, the deafening thuds of artillery, and –

 _The screams. The damned screams._ They pierced through the smoldering landscape, through the ashy sky, creating a horrifying ambiance.  

Her vision blurred, and the battles in her periphery faded as the single obstacle that lay before her became a focus. She tried to ignore the screams that invaded her attention. Mustering up all the strength she had, as much as she could in a debilitated state, Citrine focused intensely. Face clenched in effort, she summoned up all the magic she had left. The reserves, the last drops, scraping the metaphorical bottom of her stores. Her hands reached down to her side, and with a cry of pain, pulled the weapon from the oval gem on her abdomen.

She imbued as much of her remaining energy into the rifle, and with much difficulty sat up. Wincing as the pain slammed into her, Citrine let lose a shot.

The green bolt of energy cleaved through the tree, dramatically splintering it with a shower of sparks. The immense pressure on her legs was immediately relieved, and her delirium from escaping was immediately tempered as the war around her suddenly came back in disturbing clarity.

It hit her suddenly.

_Oh my stars. We…we’re losing._

She took a step forward, then collapsed. She could barely even move, much less fight the rebels. In her haze, she looked on helplessly as a desperate Topaz is unceremoniously impaled by a Pearl with malice in her eyes, as a cry for mercy is subdued with the single jab of a narrow saber.

Across the battlefield, the story seemed to be the same. Fusions and rebels armed to the teeth with psychical weapons were in the process of destroying Homeworld’s forces. Rose Quartz - _that cloddish cracked murderer that she is_ \- was in the background, directing her troops in such a masterful way that if war was a form of art, it would awe even the Diamonds themselves. Perhaps not so much awe, as a furious respect of her mastery of the game they were all playing.

Citrine hurriedly crawled to an abandoned trench, sparing a moment for the shattered bits of gems that littered the rim, and threw her self in. Her legs curled to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them, and tried not to cry.

_Even if we win, will it even matter? We’ve lost so many. Does conquest really necessitate this much conflict? Just let the idiots have their planet._

She allowed the doubt to flit across her mind, before reaching out and crushing it. She didn’t have the energy to question it. And it hardly mattered what she thought.

Images of the massive fusion crawled back into her awareness, weapons in all eight arms and staring coldly at her, and she shuddered.

_With that thing in play, did we ever really have a chance?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was the Strawberry field, in case you couldn't tell. The song is to the tune of the first verse of "The Fall of Charleston" (side note: Union war songs are fantastic). I used a more solid past-tense with this one, deviating from my standard present-tense. We'll see how well that's taken, I guess. I'll probably do a continuation of my Undertale story next, seeing as it got a small yet overwhelmingly positive reaction, so stay tuned. Kudos and comments are appreciated.


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